Parenting Techniques for Dummies
by IanPeriwinkle
Summary: Dick has to learn to be a parent to Damian, and goes through several different techniques. Rated T for Damian's potty-mouth.
1. Sticker Charts

**When Dick is learning to parent, I think he probably would have gone through one or two parenting books… So, this is going to be a collection of one-shots with Dick trying out various techniques on Damian.**

**We'll start with a sticker chart – It's used by so many parents, it just seems right to use it to begin with. Later on there'll be 'time-outs' and maybe even 'grounding' or 'spanking'… **

**Enjoy!**

"Damian," Dick warned, staring down the grumpy ten-year-old in front of him, "What happened to the chores you were supposed to do today?"

"I didn't do them," The child deadpanned, glaring up at his guardian and mentor.

"Why not?" An exasperated Dick asked. Since taking the boy in, he'd been trying to get his sort-of-brother to take on some responsibility around the home. Needless to say, Damian had been less than enthused with his new responsibilities.

"_I_," He stuck his nose in the air, "Damian Wayne, son of the Batman and Talia Al Ghul, should not be expected to do _chores_,"

Dick glared at the small boy in front of him.

"_Those_ are reserved for servants like Pennyworth,"

"Okay, Damian – I guess you won't get that reward I was saving for you,"

Damian's ears perked up a small bit. Even a kid as abnormal as Damian respected the 'bribe'.

"Reward?" He asked suspiciously, "What for?"

"Well," Dick smiled, bending down to look Damian in the eye, "You've had a lot of big changes lately, and you've been very good on patrol, so I thought that if you continued to be good and do your chores, I would give you a nice reward,"

Dick's voice suddenly became solemn, as he continued, "But as you didn't do those chores, I guess you won't get it. And I was thinking of doing this every week, too,"

"Well," Damian huffed, "What if I did them now? Would I still get the reward?"

"I dunno," Smiling brightly, Dick stood back up, "I should think so,"

Without speaking, Damian left the room. By the end of the day, all of the chores were done, and Damian found his reward on his bed, as well as a sheet of laminated poster paper. After reading it, the boy stormed downstairs.

"Grayson," Damian shouted, making Dick, who was eating freshly baked cookies in the kitchen, jump.

"What's up, little D?"

"What is the meaning of this!?" The boy cried in outrage, throwing the paper at his guardian.

"This," Dick laughed, picking up and waving about the poster, "Is a sticker chart. I'm going to put it up in the kitchen, and when you do your chores every day, you get a sticker in the appropriate box. Depending on how many stickers you have at the end of the week, you'll get a reward.

"And if you're bad," He continued, "You might lose a sticker, or get a frowny face,"

Damian snorted and folded his arms, but Dick could see a light blush forming.

"So," The boy approached cautiously, "If I'm good, I'll be rewarded, and if I'm bad, I'm not punished,"

"I never said that. If you get no stickers for an entire week, I think that something should be confiscated,"

The boy tensed, and his hand flew to his pocket where is mp3 player sat.

"Dami," Dick sighed, "I won't take away your mp3 player. That would be too much,"

"I wasn't worried about that!" Damian protested, now blushing furiously.

"Sure, squirt,"

The first week started off reasonably well.

A chart hung on the wall of the kitchen – It had each day of the week with various rules that had to be followed and chores that had to be done.

Rule numbers one through three were all 'I will be respectful to…' listing different people including teachers and leaguers. It then went on to 'I will put my dishes in the sink', 'I will make my bed in the morning' and 'I will feed Ace'

Dick was proud that Damian had collected a sticker every day for each chore, but was slightly disappointed at the distinct _lack _of stickers in the 'I will be respectful' rows.

There was a single sticker in the row 'I will be respectful to my fellow leaguers', which he had earned during a mission with Superman.

However, by the end of the first week, Dick was starting to get fed up. Damian was being extremely lax with his chores; He'd do them quickly and sloppily, get the sticker, and not pay attention to the chore until the next day, when he'd repeat the pattern.

It was time that Dick took drastic action.

On Saturday morning, when Damian woke up, he was stunned to find a frowny face on his sticker chart, under a new row that had been added overnight; 'I will do my chores to the best of my ability'

"Grayson," He spat when his guardian entered the room, "What is the meaning of this?"

"Well, Damian," Dick sighed, pouring himself a cup of coffee, "You've been doing your chores –"

"Yes, I have! So why is there this… this _face_!?"

"You didn't let me finish, kiddo. You've been _doing _your chores, but not well. You've been slacking – Only doing them for the sake of the reward. You need to do them properly; It's for your own good as well as for the sake of those around you,"

"How do you benefit from my doing chores?"

"It's less me and more Alfred. You see, Dami, Alfred has worked for the Wayne family since Bruce was a baby, and he wasn't exactly young then,"

Damian scowled and looked to the ground.

"Dami," Dick asked, touching his brother's shoulder, "I'd like to you apologise to Alfred. You'll get a reward this week, but next week I'd like to see some improvement in your attitude – Particularly in terms of respect,"

"Yes, Grayson,"

"Thank you,"

**This could have kept on going… forever. Anyway, because I'm on a cruise while I'm writing this (Bahamas!) I'll probably be putting up a few chapters at once. If you have any ideas, feel free to PM me or leave an idea in the review box. **

**You can also PM me if you'd just like to chat! Seriously… I don't bite.**


	2. Time Out

**Here is part two, for your enjoyment (I hope)…**

**The teenage club is closed until six, so I'm sitting in my room writing this. I'm not really one for being on the water – It makes me feel yucky – So I'm trying to stay as still as possible. Solitaire on my bed didn't work, so instead… I'm writing.**

**In this chapter, Dick tries giving Damian a time-out, and Damian doesn't take to it well.**

"Damian!"

The shout could be heard from outside the gates of Wayne Manor, and several passers-by stopped to look at the scene unfolding.

Dick Grayson, adopted son of Bruce Wayne, was chasing around the newest addition to the family, Damian Wayne.

"Damian," Dick yelled, throwing himself at the boy and missing by a mere inch, "Get back here!"

"No!" The boy cried, darting around a corner and running off into the distance.

The dark-haired man growled, and loped back inside grumpily.

"If I may suggest something, Master Dick," Alfred said timidly, holding out a book with a slightly shaking hand.

"A beginners guide to pre-teens," Dick read off the cover, reaching over an taking the book from the elderly butler, "You think this'll help?"

"It can't hurt to try," The butler smiled knowingly.

Sighing, Dick flipped open the book and started reading.

The door slammed and Dick stood up, briskly walking into the entrance hall where he saw his younger brother slipping out of his shoes.

"If you think that'll help me not notice you, you're dead wrong," Dick said, jerking his head in the direction of Damian's discarded shoes.

"Shut up, Grayson,"

"Damian," He warned, and was promptly flipped off by the child.

Dick walked over to the boy, grabbing Damian's arm and dragging him into the kitchen, where Alfred was cooking a stew.

"Alfred," Dick said, looking to the Butler.

"Yes, Master Dick?"

"Can I ask you to keep an eye on Damian?"

"Of course, Master Dick,"

Looking down at his brother, Dick knelt, making eye contact.

"Damian," He said, keeping a firm tone, "You've been very bad today. Lately, your behaviour has been improving, but this morning you behaved horribly! I'd like you to explain why that was, please,"

The boy scowled and crossed his arms, avoiding eye contact with his guardian.

"Well, if you're going to be like that," Dick picked up the boy and carried him to the corner, "You can have a punishment straight away,"

He plopped Damian down on an uncomfortable wooden stool that had been placed in the corner.

"I'm setting this timer to go off in ten minutes – One minute for each year of your life. I want you to keep your butt on that stool until the timer goes off. No talking, no looking around. If you need something, then you'll have to flag someone down by waving your right arm. Do you understand?"

Damian continued scowling, and looked at the ground.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'," Dick said, and placed the timer on the kitchen island, "Alfred, if he misbehaves, let me know,"

"Yes, Master Dick," Alfred nodded at the young man and turned back to his cooking.

After seven minutes, Damian started to wiggle where he sat.

_This stool is uncomfortable, it's not _fair_! And I really need to use the toilet_, He mentally whined, screwing up his face as he glared at the wall.

"Master Damian, you seem quite uncomfortable," Alfred had noted the boy's uncomfortable squirm, and having lived in a house with an hyperactive eight-year-old, knew what it often meant, "Did you need to use the restroom?"

The dark-haired child shook his head, and mentally cursed himself for it.

Luckily, Alfred was not so easily perturbed.

"Young Master," He said, looking pointedly at the boy, "I do not think Master Dick would appreciate it if I allowed you to wet yourself in the kitchen. I will hold the timer while you relieve yourself. If you take over three minutes, I will add an extra minute on to your sentence. It will resume when you return. Is that clear?"

Damian nodded, and quickly rushed out of the room while Alfred gripped the timer to keep it in place.

When Dick re-entered the kitchen, he didn't expect to see Damian sitting quietly in the corner. He was right – The boy was nowhere to be seen, but Alfred was holding the timer still.

"Alf, what's going on?"

"Young Master Damian needed to use the restroom. He wasn't going to say anything, so I suggested that he go. I will make sure that he makes up the remaining time once he is back,"

"Hm…" Dick paused to think, "Alf, I know that you meant well, but maybe you should have left it,"

The butler raised his eyes in surprise, but allowed Dick to continue.

"I mean, he may have needed to go, but he was supposed to tell you himself. Letting him leave in the middle of a punishment is a bit counter-productive, isn't it?"

Damian, meanwhile, had finished in the bathroom, and was standing outside the door, listening to the older men talk.

"Damian," Dick called from inside the kitchen, "I know that you're at the door. Get your butt in here,"

The boy toed his way into the room quietly, looking at the floor as he went.

"Damian,"

"Grayson,"

"I told you that if you needed anything you would have to let someone know,"

Shakily, Damian nodded, willing tears not to come to his eyes. Something in his guardian's tone frightened him terribly.

"And why didn't you?"

"Iwasscared," He mumbled, tucking his chin under so that he didn't need to look at his older brother.

Dick, unfortunately for Damian, had good enough ears to hear _and _understand what he said.

"Scared of what, bud?"

"Ididn'twantyoutobemad –"

"Mad?" Dick asked softly, grabbing Damian's chin and lifting it so that the boy's watering eyes had little choice but to look into his own.

Damian nodded silently, and the tears started to fall.

"Oh, darling," The older man wrapped his arms around his younger brother, "I'm not mad. I'm just disappointed,"

"But why?"

"Damian, you misbehaved this morning. When you're being looked after by my friends, I expect you to treat them with the same respect that you would give me,"

At Damian's slight scoff, Dick laughed a little.

"Okay, maybe a bit _more _respect than you give me," He amended, kissing the boy on the forehead.

Dick's smile suddenly turned and became a frown. Damian, worried by the sudden change, felt fresh tears well up in his eyes.

"I need you to finish your punishment now," Dick ordered, standing up, but not releasing his charge, "Go and sit on the stool. You have three minutes remaining, and I expect you to remain still and quiet for all of them,"

Damian nodded, and walked over to the stool where he sat.

"I'll be back here, watching. Remember what to do if you need anything?"

Again, a shaky nod and Dick was satisfied.

_Maybe this parenting thing won't be too bad_, Dick smiled to himself.

**Again, leaving it there because I could have gone on for a ****_long _****time… I'm thinking about doing some slash between Piper and Dick – Anyone interested?**


	3. Grounded

**I'm really sorry about this: This was _supposed _to be chapter three, but I forgot to post it, which is why some people were confused. I am SO sorry!**

**Another chapter, written while waiting to go to Las Vegas. We have to wait up all night – Our plane leaves at six o'clock, and instead of doing the logical thing (staying in a motel overnight and leaving at two in the morning) we are going to a late movie (****_The Hobbit_****) and then going to the airport and waiting.**

**Oh, joy.**

**Anyway, this one will be grounding, and kind of angsty…**

**Enjoy, dudes!**

Damian sulked in his room, moving between reading books on his bed and throwing balled-up socks at the door.

He was bored.

This was some new punishment Dick had thought up; He called it 'grounding'.

So far, it had been two days. It had started on Thursday, when Damian had lost his temper during a Justice League meeting; He'd become tired and cranky after nearly three straight days of being awake, and had lashed out at Superman when he went to ruffle Damian's hair.

"Stupid Grayson," He grumbled, reaching down and changing songs on his mp3 player.

He flipped the small device in his hand and stood, surveying the mess that had slowly grown since his confinement; Balled up socks lying around the base of the door, used plates stacking around the computer, a pile of dirty laundry in the corner. It didn't help that Damian hadn't opened his curtains or windows for the past five days.

"I _should_ clean up, but…" A small smirk grew on Damian's usually angry face.

Dick had decreed that Damian wouldn't have to do his chores while he was grounded, because getting a reward while being punished is counter-productive. This suited Damian just fine: It gave him more time to mope around and practice glaring at people.

The boy stalked over to his desk, reaching down and plugging in the small music player. After a few minutes, he stepped back, ripped out his headphones, and ran to his bed.

Music began to play, filling the room with a song that Todd had convinced him to download, _Ballroom Blitz_. Damian had never learned to dance, so it looked a bit like he was having a seizure.

Arms moving wildly, and head thrashing in time to the beat, Damian lost himself. It was numbing, and he loved it.

Luckily, nobody else was home; Pennyworth had gone off to England for a week, and Dick was at a meeting with the Justice League. Damian was free to do as he liked – Within reason, and the limitations of his grounding. _So_, Damian reasoned, _I should be able to do this. I'm staying home, in my room, and not disturbing anyone_.

_Not disturbing anyone_, Damian inwardly sighed. He'd recently made what may or may not qualify as being a 'friend'. Colin.

Colin was annoying, shy, emotional, and _normal_. But Damian, for whatever reason, found that he enjoyed spending time with the other boy.

Dick called their friendship 'sweet'.

Damian found it annoying; He was confused and slightly scared, which made him angry. It wasn't a pretty combination.

It was very entertaining for the rest of the Justice League, much to Damian's chagrin.

"… need to run a simulation of what may happen,"

The Justice League's meeting had dragged on for three hours, and Dick was starting to get bored. Back when he was Robin, he didn't need to worry as much about sitting around, but now that he was Nightwing, and an official member of the League, he had to sit through the meetings, no matter how bored he got.

"It could be dangerous if we –"

"Listen, guys," Dick interrupted Wonder Woman, "No matter how interesting this is, I've left Robin home alone. I need to get back,"

"The meeting's nearly over," Groaned Green Lantern, who Dick _knew _had slept through at least an hour of the meeting.

"Yeah, but it's been going on for three – And the kid's _supposed _to be grounded,"

Superman looked thoroughly unamused, "You've been reading parenting books again, haven't you?"

"Yeah," Dick was highly offended. Everyone seemed to think that Damian was incapable of feelings, and that 'everyone' extended even to the big man in blue, "And believe it or not, he's responding!"

"I didn't say he wasn't,"

"The fuck you didn't,"

"You're imagining things, Dick,"

"First, no names in uniform," Dick glowered darkly at his 'Uncle' Clark, "And second, don't try to hide it. I know that none of you have liked Damian from first day one, and I respect that you're unsure of him, given who he was raised by," At this point, Dick had started yelling, and was running out of breath, "But he is a _ten-year-old boy_, and deserves to be treated the same way as _any _child. You wouldn't treat Irey or Jai like that, would you?"

The League was silent. Dick had had his outbursts before, but it still shocked them when it happened.

"Dude," Wally's voice was quiet, "Don't bring my kids into this,"

"I'll leave your kids out of this if you treat _my kid _like a _fucking human being _once in a while,"

"Dick, he's not," Dinah seemed unsure of herself, watching the argument. She couldn't bring herself to finish what she was saying.

"I _know_," The man sobbed, rubbing his temples, "I _know _he's not my son, but I love him like one, and it's not as if _his _dad is going to be around anytime soon,"

The room fell completely silent. Dick stood, and walked out.

Dick was about half-way home when the alarm sounded. He looked towards home, and then to the bank, and he sighed, before changing directions.

The number was on speed-dial, thankfully, and Dick held his wrist close to his face as Wally answered.

"What, dude?"

_Great_, Dick thought, _He's pissed at me_.

"Wally, man, I know I shouldn't have brought your kids into it earlier, and I apologise –"

"Dude, if that's all you have to say, just don't. I already forgave you; You're my buddy – How can't I?"

"I know, man, but I need to ask a favour,"

There was a scoff at the other end of the line.

"I'm alone with the twins, Dick. I can't just pick-up and leave,"

"I just need you to babysit a minute," Dick pleaded.

Wally breathed heavily on the other end of the line for a few seconds.

"Fine,"

When Wally arrived at the manor with his twins in tow, he expected it to be quiet. He didn't expect to hear loud music coming from the bedroom of his friend's charge.

He put the twins down on the couch; Luckily the music hadn't woken them. Then, he went to investigate.

The music was almost too loud for the man to bear. He slammed his hand against the door, "Damian!"

He banged on the door a few more times, and yelled the boy's name, and when this failed to get the kid's attention, he barged in.

To say Wally was stunned by what he saw would be an understatement. The child's arms flung wildly, and his feet tapped in time to the music. Wally was mesmerised. At least, for a moment.

The man jumped up onto the bed and pulled Damian down, accidentally knocking him. Wally's hand slipped, and Damian fell off the bed, hitting his head on the wooden floor.

"_Shit_," Wally swore, as he picked up the small boy. He rushed over and turned off the sound, cradling the dark-haired child in his arms.

Taking things very slowly, Wally carried Damian downstairs and placed him on the couch next to Jai. His son was snoring peacefully, but so far Damian hadn't stirred.

"_Shit_," He whispered, and he dialled Dick's number, "Dude,"

"What is it, Wally? I'm on my way back now,"

"Damian – He's hurt,"

"Was he in the training room again? I _always _tell him –"

"No, no. He fell off his bed – Actually, no. I knocked him off his bed. He fell, and he hit his head, and I'm no good with this kind of thing, dude –"

"Let me get this straight. You _knocked a little boy off his bed_?"

"Shit, Dick – I know, okay? Just get the fuck back here,"

"I'm already on my way,"

The beeping signalled the end of the call and Wally sighed, looking back at the three children on the couch. He was slightly worried about the bruise forming on Damian's forehead, but hopefully it was nothing Dick couldn't handle.

Wally cursed himself for being such a coward and walked over to pick up his son.

Dick sprinted from the Batcave straight to the manor and quickly found Wally and the three kids.

"God, is he okay?"

"I think so – I dunno. He hasn't done anything,"

"Of course he hasn't," Dick's voice had changed to a monotone.

His fingers trembled as he felt over the boy for any additional injuries, and when none were found, he moved on to the head injury.

When he pressed down around the bruise, more blood pooled under the skin, colouring the skin a deep purple. Some red blossomed through, and Dick beckoned Wally over.

"Dude," He said, "You're staying here until he's okay,"

"Sure,"

"I need you to get me a warm cloth and a blanket,"

"Sure,"

"And stop replying with one-syllable words," He whined, taking the blankets from Wally, who'd just sped back, "It's _really _annoying,"

"Okay,"

"Fuck you, too,"

It took a little over an hour, and it was about two in the morning, but Dick finally decreed that Wally could go home.

The two men parted ways at the front door, Wally holding a twin in each arm and Dick cuddling Damian to his chest.

"Sorry, dude," Wally apologised again, as he had at least seven times in the past hour.

"It's fine, Wally. Just get home,"

"See you round, I guess," Wally made to leave, but turned back to his friend, "And dude; We should get the kids together. Damian probably needs friends his age,"

Dick smiled warmly and waved his friend off.

"Okay, Damian,"

It had been a week since Damian had hit his head, and he was grumpier than ever.

"What, Grayson?"

"Your grounding is resumed as of this afternoon,"

The boy spat out his cereal, "What?"

"You heard me,"

"Why?"

"You got off because you were hurt, but you're better now, so you're back to being punished,"

"Fuck you, Grayson,"

"Watch your language, squirt,"

Damian scowled, and Dick laughed at him, reaching over and ruffling the boy's hair.

"I love you so much, Damian,"

The child blushed, still scowling as his guardian played with the dark locks.

"I love you, too, Grayson," He mumbled into his chest.

**Fluff… Okay; No wireless at my resort, so this probably won't be up until I'm back in Australia. It's a little bit annoying, but I just discovered that I'm two streets away from a comic shop… If I can ever find my way there.**

**I love writing this, but soon it'll be over. I'll do two or three more chapters. Spanking, a playdate, and maybe a party.**


	4. Spanking

**It's FREEZING in Las Vegas! Seriously; I'm freezing my butt off here. It doesn't help that I've gone from home, which was thirty degree days, to Florida which had twenty-five to thirty degree days most of the time, then up to Las Vegas, where the highest temperature I've been in outside is about nine degrees. Usually it's only that cold in the middle of the night in Winter.**

**This chapter shall be spanking… By more than one person.**

It was becoming a regular occurrence, and not only Batman, but the entire Justice League was sick of it.

None of them had ever thought Damian would find it easy to give _or _receive affection, but they never expected that he would get so violent over it.

That's why when he bit Aquaman, a new punishment was implemented.

_Smack_, The sound could be heard throughout the Watchtower. Aquaman sat with Wonder Woman, nursing his bleeding arm.

_Smack, smack, smack_

Wally scoffed at the sound, "Kid deserves everything he gets,"

"That's an awful thing to say," Diana reprimanded the speedster, smacking him upside the head, "He may be rude, but Damian is still a child,"

In the small room that served as Dick's base in the Watchtower, Dick tried to keep hold of the squirming boy in his lap.

"Keep still, Damian," He warned, giving the boy another sharp smack across the bum.

A sob escaped Damian and he shook his head, "I don't want –"

"I know you don't want it, kid," Dick said angrily, smacking once more, "But you need to stop biting people you work with! They'll never trust you, otherwise,"

"They don't trust me anyway," The boy hissed when another smack hit him.

Dick sighed, and stood the boy up, "Damian, I know that you have a hard time trusting people. I understand that you find it hard to show how you feel, but instead of lashing out, why don't you just say that you're uncomfortable?"

The boy stood silently for a moment, staring at the floor, before murmuring something incomprehensible.

"Damian, I don't think _Superman _would be able to hear what you just said. Could you repeat it for me, baby?"

"Not a baby," Damian pouted and crossed his arms. He looked down, blushing and spoke softly, "I can't tell them. They'll think I'm weak,"

"Damian," The man sighed and took the child into his arms, embracing him warmly, "Nobody here thinks you're weak. They all know you, and none of them would judge you for it,"

"But they already do," Damian whispered, rubbing his face into Dick's chest, "They always have, and always will,"

Dick didn't know what to say, so he soothed the boy until he fell asleep.

A few days later, dick left on a mission that was too dangerous for Damian. He didn't want to leave the boy alone with Alfred, however, so Damian was under the temporary care of Wally and Linda West.

Sitting on the living room floor, Damian occupied himself by reading to the twins, Jai and Iris, who, though only three years old, looked as if they were in their early teens.

Iris was delighted; She had another younger brother to tease and play with.

"Aw, Damian," She cooed, ruffling the boy's hair, "You're _such _a good reader!"

Damian growled and swatted Iris' hand away, but doing this only resulted in her giggling and cuddling him close.

"Aw! You're so cute when you're mad,"

"Irey," Jai interrupted, flicking the back of his sister's head, "Leave the kid alone. He's trying to do his homework," The boy turned to Damian, "Go on, keep on reading. It's pretty interesting,"

The smaller boy nodded and continued with the novel for a short while, before he noticed Iris getting closer.

She crept up, and while Damian tried desperately to ignore her, he couldn't when she reached out and started tickling him.

Reacting on instinct like he usually did, Damian whipped around quickly and bit into one of the offending hands, just as Wally walked into the room.

"Hey," He shouted, running over to the kids, "Damian, get off!"

Iris whined, and wrapped her arms around her father's neck as soon as Damian released her, "Daddy! Damian hurt me,"

"I know, sweetheart," He soothed her, pressing a kiss into her hair and shooting a glare at Damian, who was being held back by Jai, "Why don't you and Jai go upstairs and put a bandage on that bite? I'm going to have a chat with Damian, okay?"

Jai reluctantly let go of the younger boy and took his sister's hand as she was put down by their father. The twins shot Damian a glare as they left the room.

"Damian," Wally's voice was dark, and Damian was instantly scared, "Why did you bite my daughter?"

The boy was silent, looking at the floor.

"Damian! Answer me," The red-head barked, and Damian looked up into the man's eyes.

"I-I-I –"

"What the _fuck _were you doing?"

"I was t-t-trying to –"

"You were trying to bite her arm off! That's what you were trying to do,"

"No," Damian wailed, tears welling in his eyes, "No,"

"You know, I actually started to think that you might be a good kid, but no, you –"

"Stop," The boy sobbed, the tears finally spilling over, "I'm sorry! I was – I was just t-t-trying to –"

"Shut up," Wally growled, "Dick told me that he's been spanking you. I haven't done this before, but if it works, I'll fucking try it,"

The man grabbed Damian's wrist and dragged the child across to the couch where he sat down. Pulling Damian across his lap, Wally continued angrily, "Stupid kid. Attacking my daughter? That's too far – I don't see why Dick doesn't just get rid of you,"

Damian gasped. He knew that he'd been naughty, but he didn't ever think that Dick would get rid of him, but thinking about it, it seemed fairly likely. Dick was still relatively young; Too young to have a child.

The thought made Damian cry all the more as he felt the first blows to his buttocks. They were hard – Harder than Dick's had been, and after ten hits the man continued.

Dick had told Damian, when he'd explained what spanking was, that he would only give the child ten hits – One for every year of his life. From what he'd counted, and that wasn't completely reliable because of his hysteria, Damian had been hit twenty-seven times, and each new hit came faster and harder than the last.

"P-p-please,"

"Shut up,"

"Stop!"

"Shut up!"

The boy shut his mouth, not wanting to provoke any more anger. The vibrations that Wally gave off were painful enough, and it wasn't long before Damian felt his bottom grow wet.

"P-p-please," He begged, kicking hard enough that he hits the side of Wally's head. Wally is silent for a moment, before looking down at the boy.

"Oh, shit," He frets, "What have I done? Shit, kid,"

Damian sobbed, and tears fell from his face down to the carpet.

Wally picked up the boy, being careful not to touch his bleeding buttocks, and removed all of Damian's clothing, walking to the bathroom.

The speedster, still carrying Damian, turned the bath on and held the boy close, rocking him back and forth.

"Oh, God, Damian," He apologised over and over again, muttering quietly and stroking the boy's hair, "I'm so, so sorry,"

Damian hiccoughed, and sobbed into Wally's shoulder. He whispered miserably, "I want Dickie,"

Wally was stunned to silence. He hadn't known that Damian was so close with his friend.

"He'll be home before you know it, 'kay?"

Again, the boy sobbed.

Wally washed Damian carefully once the bath was run, and changed him into some pyjamas.

"Let's get you to bed," He whispered quietly.

Damian nodded his assent and allowed himself to be carried into Jai's bedroom, where a sleeping bag and inflatable mattress had been set up.

The red-head knelt on the floor and carefully tucked Damian into the sleeping bag, making sure to place him so that his butt faced upwards.

"Sleep well, squirt,"

It was over a week before Dick got back from the mission, and so far the boy and Wally were the only ones who knew about the spanking. Of course, the twins knew that it had _happened_; They just didn't know how far it had gone.

"Was he good?" Dick asked, picking up and enveloping Damian in a hug.

"Apart from one incident on the first day, he was fine,"

Dick sighed and looked down at his charge, disappointed, "Damian, what did you do?"

The boy flushed red and mumbled something quietly before pressing his face into the dark-haired man's shoulder.

"That isn't going to help, Damian," Dick was annoyed now, "What did you do?"

He then felt the tears soaking through his shirt, "Hey, baby? Why are you crying?"

"It's okay, Dick," Wally says, walking over and kissing Damian's cheek, "I already punished him for what he did,"

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Listen, dude, we have to talk about what happened, but maybe Damian shouldn't be there for it,"

Dick stared at his friend for a few minutes before nodding and setting the child down. Damian, however, didn't want to be left behind. He gripped tightly onto Dick's shirt, not letting the man go.

"Damian, sweetie," Dick whispered into the boy's ear, "You have to let go now,"

"No," The child choked, gripping even harder, "Nonononono,"

"Baby, this isn't like you at all," Dick was worried, "What on Earth has gotten into you?"

"He doesn't want you to know what happened," Wally was sympathetic to the child, "Iris will join the conversation, too. She has some explaining to do,"

Damian latched on harder to Dick, and the man found himself with no choice but to lift his charge again, "Sorry, Wally. Damian's gonna have to come,"

"Oh, well," Wally sighs tiredly, "Iris," He calls, "Get your butt down here,"

"Yes, Daddy,"

Iris came down the stairs wearing a long yellow sundress that went down to her ankles.

"What's up?"

"You, Uncle Dick, Damian and I are going to have a little talk about what happened Saturday before last,"

The girl blushed a little, but went to join the men in the living room.

"Okay, guys. Let's get down to business,"

"So," Dick said, looking over at the two Wests, "What did Damian do that earned him a punishment?"

"A spanking," Wall clarified.

"That bad?"

"Yeah,"

"Oh, Damian," Dick scolded the boy on his lap, "You naughty boy,"

Damian started to blubber, and Iris giggled a little before she was silenced by a glare from her father.

"Don't be mad at him yet, Dick," Wally said, his gaze pointed directly at his daughter, "We haven't told you what he did or why he did it, yet,"

"Okay. I'll let you finish,"

"Thank you. Anyway, Damian bit Irey, and –"

"What!?" Dick roared, "Damian, I've already spanked you once for biting somebody; I expected much better of you,"

Damian looked up at his guardian, the tears streaming down his face. Wally looked solemn, but got up and picked the child from his friend.

"Dick," He said softly, "Lave it. He's been punished enough, trust me,"

The man scowled, but said nothing more as the speedster carried Damian over to sit with him and Iris.

Damian snuggled into Wally and sent a reproachful glare over at Dick.

"So, Damian, would you like to explain _why _you bit Irey?"

The boy shook his head shyly and hid his face.

"That wasn't the answer I wanted…" Wally let the sentence trail off, and Damian stared at him for a few seconds before whispering softly:

"Irey 'uz being mean to me,"

"Mean?" Iris asked, incredulous, "How was I being mean? I just tickled him!"

"Damian doesn't like being touched without warning," Wally said, "I told you that when I told you he was coming to stay,"

"But I didn't take it seriously. What kind of kid doesn't like to be tickled?"

"She 'uz also teasing me," The boy whispered, hiding his face from view.

"Teasing?" Wally hadn't heard that before, "Irey, why were you teasing him?"

The girl nervously fidgeted, "He was reading out loud, and he was really bad at it, so I told him that he was doing good and that he was cute, and then Jai told me to stop –"

"Wait," Dick interrupted, "He was reading aloud?"

"Yeah," Iris was confused, "So?"

"He never does that. He really must have trusted you and Jai,"

The girl looked down guiltily, "I'm sorry Uncle Dick,"

"It's okay, sweetheart. Wally, you wanted to tell me about his being punished?"

"Uh, yeah," Wally looked down at the boy in his lap, and then to his daughter, "Irey, you can go now,"

"Yes, Daddy,"

Iris stood and started to leave, but turned back, "I'm sorry, Damian,"

She ran off.

"Why do you want to tell me about this?" Dick asked, looking back at his friend.

"Something… _bad_ happened during the spanking. I went overboard. Not by a little, but by a lot,"

Dick frowned.

"I went past the ten hits you wanted, and… Well… I just kept on going,"

"How many times…?"

"I don't know. All I remember is starting to hit him, getting really mad, and then when he kicked me in the face. I looked down after he hit me and I'd smacked his butt so much he was bleeding,"

"He was what?" Dick's face was bright red, and he was glaring at Wally with a look of pure hatred, "Give him to me,"

Damian cowered away from Dick's voice and shrunk into a small ball.

Wally handed over the child, and looked to the ground guiltily.

"First you knock him and give him a concussion, now I trust you with him and you abuse him!?"

The red-head shook his head and willed tears not to come to his eyes.

Damian did the same.

"I'm fucking leaving,"

**I didn't mean for it to be nearly as long, nor as dark as that. Shit…**


	5. Prelude For Chapter Six

**Thanks to ****Steveiex****, you guys shall be getting a chapter sooner than planned. A big thanks to the three reviews I got ****_overnight_****! And a big thanks to ****HowDracoGotHisGrooveBack**** for ponting out my little problem with past/present tense.**

**I ****_was _****going to do a play-date chapter, but another person has requested a sequel to ****_My Precious Sons_****, which I am going to incorporate here.**

**There has been a time-skip for this chapter, and Brucie is back! But you don't have to worry; We'll have Dick back before you know it.**

When Bruce woke up, he couldn't quite remember what had happened yesterday. He remembered something awful happening, and being highly worried, but not much else. It was when he saw his son's sleeping face beside him that he remembered what had happened.

He reached around his son and turned on the lamp, getting out of bed, being very careful not to wake the boy. It was a rare opportunity for Bruce to see his only biological son being so calm.

Getting dressed quietly was no easy task; Zippers, for instance, made a lot of noise, and were a key part of Bruce's wardrobe.

The sound of zipping up his trousers caused Damian to stir, and the boy sat up, looking around confusedly.

"Hey, Damian," Bruce whispered, walking over to the child, "Good morning,"

"Father?"

"Yeah,"

"What time is it?" Damian asked, rubbing his eyes.

Bruce checked the clock, "It's about seven thirty,"

That woke the boy up. His eyes opened wide, and he ran out of the room, leaving a confused Bruce in his wake*.

"Shit," Bruce heard the boy whisper, "I'm safe," A sigh of relief escaped Damian.

"Damian?"

The boy startled, and cautiously opened the door, "Yes, Father?"

"You okay? You sounded worried,"

"Nothing's wrong, Father. I don't know what you mean,"

Bruce had the door slammed in his face, and deciding to trust the boy, left it at that.

"Father?" Alfred heard Damian calling from the main hall, "Father?"

The old butler walked into the main hall, "Master Damian, are you alright?"

"Pennyworth," The boy fixed a glare on the old man, "Have you seen Father?"

"I believe that he just left, Sir,"

"Oh,"

Alfred could see that the boy was disappointed, but didn't press the matter. He smileed gently at the boy, "If you would like, Young Master, I could make you some breakfast?"

The boy was forlorn, and nodded silently.

"May I ask what the matter is?"

"Hm,"

"I'll take that as a no, then,"

Again, a silent nod, and Alfred walked over, gripping the boy's shoulders, "You know, Master Damian," He said, looking into the child's eyes, "You're a very sweet boy, no matter what others say,"

A tear escaped Damian's eye, but neither of them said anything. The two made their way to the kitchen where breakfast was eaten in silence.

"Batman," Dick greeted his mentor, reaching out and hugging him.

"Nightwing,"

"How's Robin?" The younger man whispered anxiously, "Is he behaving for you?"

Bruce froze for a moment, unsure of what to answer. Eventually, he said, "I'll need to talk to you about it later," And left, leaving a very confused Nightwing behind.

"Dude?"

"What's up, Flash?"

The red-head looked in-between the back of the Dark Knight and his best friend, "Did you just get the cold shoulder from Bats?"

"I don't… think so?"

"Dude," Wally laughed, "I totally think you did! What the hell brought that on?"

"I dunno," Dick stared after his mentor thoughtfully, 'But I'm going to find out,"

He chased after Batman, grabbing the older man's cape and quickly dragging him into an unused room.

"Okay, Bruce," He said, pulling off his domino mask, "What's up with Damian?"

"I don't know," Bruce admitted, "He was really scared when he woke up in my room this morning, and just ran off. I went to follow him, and heard him saying something about 'being safe', but when I asked him about it he wouldn't tell me anything,"

Dick looked contemplative, "Do you want me to come over and talk to him?"

"No," Bruce hurried, "No, it's fine. I can deal with it,"

"You sure? No offense, but he's much more comfortable with me,"

"I'm sure,"

"Okay, Bruce. But please," Dick hugged his mentor, "_Please _tell me if something's wrong,"

Bruce hugged back tighter, and kissed his 'son' on the cheek, "I will, Dick,"

**Okay, this chapter is short, because it's a prelude to the next chapter. **

***You will find out why next time! Muahahahahaha!**


	6. Bedwetting

**And here's the actual chapter. I hope that I've been able to keep to the past tense, but if I haven't, I'm sorry. **

**This chapter is in-tying with ****_Damian's Problem_****, if you've read it. You don't have to have read it for this to make sense, but I'm going to suggest that you do anyway, because that's what I feel I should do…**

**I'm listening to a few songs as I write: ****_Pretty Face and Kin_****, who are by the same artist. I suggest looking them up, because they're just so… pretty! It would be best for people who like artists such as Regina Spektor, or bands like The Paper Raincoat.**

Tears streamed down Damian's face openly, as he changed the sheets of his bed again. He didn't know why it was happening, and even worse, just a few weeks before Bruce had come back it had happened during patrol!

It was embarrassing and stupid.

"Damian?" There was a knock at the door, "Damian, what are you doing up? It's two in the morning –"

Bruce had walked in, and Damian had been unable to hide what he was doing. The brown-streaked sheets in his hand dropped to the floor, and the boy ran from the room, brushing past a stunned Bruce.

The older man walked over and picked up the sheets, "Poor kid," He mumbled to himself, as he went to put them in the wash-basket.

Damian rode. He paid no mind to the fact that he was still in his soiled clothing, and was probably staining the seat of his motorbike. He just rode.

He needed to find the one person who would understand; The one person who would help him. What he didn't need was to be stopped half-way by Drake.

"Damian? What are you doing out so late?"

"None of your business, _Drake_," He spat out the name, "Get out of the way,"

"No,"

"_Move_, Drake,"

Tim crossed his arms and stared defiantly at the boy, "Not until you tell me what you're doing. Or, I could just call Bruce and let him know that –"

"Let him know what?" Damian roared, jumping off the bike and heading for the older boy, "Let him know that I'm gone? Let him know that I'm such a stupid baby, I can't even keep my bed dry? Let him know that in all the time I've been here, I haven't been able to get _one person _to like me? What will you tell him, Drake?"

"You…" Tim was dumbfounded. He had trouble comprehending what he'd just heard, but after a few minutes of stunned silence, he noticed tears starting to run down the boy's face, "Damian? Why are you crying?"

"I don't know, Drake," Damian tried to hide his sobs, but failed miserably, "Why don't you get out of the way?"

"Hey," The older boy chided, taking a few steps towards Damian and enveloping the boy in a soft hug, "I'm sorry, okay? Why are you so upse –"

It was then that he noticed the dampness of the pyjamas, and the accompanying smell.

"Oh," Was all that Tim said, and he quickly scooped up Damian and got on the bike.

Damian clutched tightly to the older boy, as they zoomed off, "You were headed to Dick's, rigjht?"

The small boy nodded, and buried his face. _First I embarrassed myself in front of Father, and now Drake, too?_

While the sobbing had subsided, small sniffles could still be heard for half the ride to Bludhaven. By the time the two arrived at Dick's apartment, though, Damian had fallen asleep.

Tim grabbed out his phone, quickly punching in Dick's number and calling. It rang for a few moments before Dick answered.

"What's up, Timmy?" The man asked groggily.

"Sorry for waking you," Tim said, "But I've got a situation. I'm downstairs from your apartment – Can you come and get me?"

"Sure, kiddo," Dick hung up and started pulling on some pants.

Tim felt awkward, leaning against the small bike with the tiny boy in his arms, but it was somehow comforting; For once the child wasn't trying to maim him.

The feel of the drying urine, on the other hand, was a much less pleasant feeling, _Please hurry up, Dick_.

When the older man arrived downstairs a few minutes after the call, he was shocked to see the two so civil together.

"Timmy, what's up?"

"Take him from me,"

"What?"

"_Please _take Damian from me," Tim begged, "He stinks,"

Dick looked perplexed, but walked over and took the smaller boy in his arms. He sniffed, and screwed up his face, "You're right, _ugh_,"

"I don't know what happened, but I found him riding to your place,"

"Let's get upstairs before we start talking. We should get the kid cleaned up and in bed,"

Tim nodded his agreement and they made their way upstairs.

Not wanting to wake the sleeping child yet, Dick placed Damian on the couch next to Tim and ran off to run a bath.

"Tim," He whispered when he got back, "You don't know anything about what happened? Nothing at all?"

The teenager shook his head, "Like I said, I just found him riding through Gotham like this,"

"Well, shit,"

"What's wrong?"

"I dunno, but…" Dick trailed off, "He's had these accidents before," He whispered.

"He has?"

"Yeah… One night on patrol he had an accident, and when I found out he admitted that he'd been wetting the bed,"

"Oh," Tim said quietly, "I wouldn't have expected that,"

Dick nodded solemnly, stroking Damian's cheek, "I don't think _he _expected it, either,"

"Come on, Squirt," He whispered, reaching over and shaking the boy softly, "Wake up,"

The boy mumbled quietly in his sleep before opening his eyes and blinking.

"Where am I?"

"You're at my place, Baby,"

"Hn?" The boy looked up at Dick for a moment, before blushing and covering his face, "No," He moaned.

Dick picked up the child and cuddled him for a moment as sobs started to shake Damian's body, "That's okay, Baby,"

"No. It isn't," Damian cried for a few more minutes, and Dick carried him into the bathroom, giving a stern look to Tim.

"We'll be back in a little while," He said, "Could you bring me some of my pyjamas?"

"Yeah, on it,"

"Thanks, Tim,"

"No problem,"

About an hour later, the three dark-haired boys sat on Dick's couch, sipping hot cocoa.

"You wanna talk about it, Dami?"

The boy shook his head and looked at the floor. The sound of the washing machine could be heard in the background, making Damian feel more and more embarrassed with every turn.

Dick moved over and put his arm around the boy's shoulders, pulling him close.

"Damian, Baby?"

"Damian," Tim whispered, "It's okay. Please talk to us about it,"

The child shook his head 'no', and snuggled into Dick's embrace, "You tired, Kiddo?"

A shaky nod, and Dick stood up, cradling the boy in his arms, "Come on, Timmy," He said to the other boy, who just stared back dumbly, "You don't think I'm letting you go home _now_? It's five in the morning; Come and get an hour or two of sleep,"

Tim followed Dick, and the three disappeared into the bedroom.

**I'm going to leave it there, I think. If anyone has any ideas, feel free to leave it in a review or PM me. I'm completely open to prompts and suggestions.**


	7. Waking Up With Dickie

**So, let's get some… business out of the way first. I forgot to post a chapter, so if you haven't already, go back and read ****_Grounding_****, please. That's where Wally gives Damian a concussion. Second is a small thing for ****nightmare****, a guest reviewer; There was a time-skip in-between the spanking chapter and the next. I believe that I said that.**

**Anyway, now that it's done, let's get on with the story. (Also, I received several suggestions which are ****_definitely _****happening after a short while)**

Damian was the first to wake up the next morning, and he was extremely pleased – Not that he'd let it show – That the bed was completely dry.

He crawled out of the bed from between the two others and made his way to the kitchen.

Opening the fridge, Damian debated whether any of the food was edible; There was some Chinese take-away, and some leftover pizza, but he didn't like the look of the green mould on the sides of the fridge.

"Damian?" A groggy voice asked from the hallway. Damian turned to see Tim wandering into the room, "What's the time?"

"How should I know?" The boy snapped, "Grayson seems to have no need for clocks,"

"Thanks, little brothers. I love hearing you guys bitch about my house so early in the morning," Dick laughed as he followed Tim, "Uh, Damian," He pointed toward the fridge, "You _really _don't want to eat anything in there,"

"I'd noticed," The boy sneered, and slammed the door shut.

Dick looked affronted, "There's a nice bakery nearby, though. I'll pay,"

Tim scoffed, "You bet you will. I don't have any money on me, and I highly doubt Damian does,"

"I kinda guessed that, Timmy," Dick laughed, "Now you two go get showered and dressed. They'll be way too big, but you can borrow some of my clothes,"

"Yeah, yeah," Tim said, stalking out of the room. Damian went to follow, but Dick wrapped his arms around the young boy's neck.

"You're a good boy, Damian. I love you," Dick purred, "Listen, I need to have a talk with you, 'kay? You can use the shower when Timmy's done,"

"What do we need to talk about?" Damian could feel the lump in his throat.

Dick sighed, and carefully spun the boy around so they faced each-other. He leant down to be eye-to-eye with Damian before answering, "Damian," His voice was a low whisper, "I know what Wally said to you. He told me everything the night I took you home from his house," His voice cracked, "I never got to tell you that he was wrong,"

"I thought all adults were supposed to know _everything_," The child let out a cheeky giggle, one that only Dick had heard before.

"Come on," Dick couldn't keep the smile out of his voice, "We need to be serious here. Now, let's cuddle on the couch and converse,"

Damian nodded, and followed Dick to the living room where he settleed in the older man's lap.

"Wally told me everything he said, Baby," Dick whispered, stroking Damian's cheek, "But I'd like you to tell me; What did he say to you?"

"If you already know, why do you want me to tell you?"

Sighing, Dick lay back, "I need to know how you feel about it, and I'm not going to be able to figure that out if I leave it to you. You're terrible at showing emotions, you know that, Baby?"

The boy didn't giggle at Dick's joke. He breathed in deeply, and willed himself not to cry. After repeating this technique several times, he asked shakily, "You don't hate me, do you?"

The question was simple, but it took Dick by surprise, "Damian," He cooed, "I could never hate you,"

"But Fl – West said –"

"I know, Darling. He said that I should have given you up. But I need you to understand that I would _never_ have done that to you, okay?"

The words didn't help much; Damian buried his face into Dick's chest and sobbed quietly.

"I think we're also going to need to have a talk with your Dad, kiddo,"

Damian startled, and looked up at Dick with tears in his eyes, "Why?"

"Because, Baby, these accidents aren't going to go away overnight. We _all_," Dick emphasised the 'all', "Need to find a way to help you,"

"Does Father really need to know of this?" Damian's voice was quiet and sullen, and Dick felt exceedingly guilty when he answered.

"He probably already figured it out,"

The boy gave a sigh, and cuddled into the older man.

"I expect you to call him,"

A phone call and two showers later, Dick loaded Damian's motorbike into his car boot and the three boys headed back to Gotham, only stopping briefly at Dick's favourite bakery.

"So, Timmy," Dick said, chewing on a piece of pastry-wrapped sausage, "You have to join us for the talk we're having with Brucie, 'kay?"

"Why?" Tim asked incredulously, "I mean, I have nothing to do with Damian! No offense, but it's true," He added, shooting a nervous glance at the smallest boy, who was still busy gnawing on a tough garlic bread.

"Don't worry Drake. I'm not thirsting after your blood at the moment,"

"That makes me feel _so _much better,"

"I aim to please," Damian smirked, and tore off a large chunk of his bread.

Dick smiled gleefully at his passengers' banter, "So, Damian," He asked cautiously, "You seemed very happy this morning,"

The young boy blushed furiously and ducked his chin, "I was not,"

"Oh, yeah?"

"Shut up, Grayson,"

"I love you, too, Damian,"

Damian grumbled, and muttered a death threat, but still smiled softly.

"Are we there yet?" He asked.

Bruce flung open the door when he saw the three boys making their way up the path. Tim and Damian practically swam in Dick's clothes, and the older man was giggling, trying to help Damian walk properly in the over-large pants.

"Damian," He shouted, running down and grabbing the boy, pulling him into a hug, "You're okay,"

"Of course I am, Father," Damian stated smugly, "I am the son of the Batman,"

"That doesn't mean you should go running off in the middle of the night," The man scolded, giving his son a stern look.

"I didn't see _you _chasing after him," Dick deadpanned.

Bruce froze for a second, "I only didn't chase after him because I _knew _he'd go to your house. He likes you better,"

Damian looked up at his father in surprise, "That's not true,"

"Oh, yeah? Damian, no offense, but you're like an open book,"

The boy sniffed, and tightened his arms around his father's neck.

"Okay, Bruce. We all need to sit down for a chat,"

"About last night?"

"About more than last night," Dick was solemn, and Bruce was slightly worried.

**Okay, well, I think that next chapter will be… interesting. I have a few ideas to keep this going, so I hope you look forward to it! Sorry that I didn't update earlier, but I had to go to a party, and parties don't exactly agree with me.**


	8. The Family Talk

**This story is gaining followers so quickly! Thank you to everyone. This is probably my most popular story, and I feel a constant need to update.**

**Unfortunately, school starts in a few weeks, and I've just grabbed ****_another _****job. Plus, my film group is incorporating, so we're having a big meeting soon. In short, I'm ****_extremely _****busy.**

**But, I shall continue to update until the story is done. I hope that you stick with me until the end, even with my knack for swapping tenses. ;)**

**By the way, has anybody else noticed my habit of putting as much alliteration in as possible? I didn't realise until the last chapter.**

The elderly butler carefully placed a cup of tea in front of each of his masters in turn, and left the room. Of course, he wanted to know what was going on, but he'd find out whether he was in there with them or not.

"Okay, Dick," Bruce broke the awkward silence that had fell over the room, "What else was there to talk about?"

"I never got around to telling you my attempts at being a good parent while you were…" The next word came out awkwardly, "Gone,"

"Why do I need to know this?"

"Well, if my maths in correct – And it usually is – Damian's _accidents _started about the time that I became his guardian. I want to figure out what triggered them, though,"

"Hm…" Bruce looked thoughtful, "Damian, you've slept in my bed several times, and you've never had an accident then,"

"He's never had an accident when sleeping with me, either," Dick pondered, looking over at the boy.

"So, do you want to go over what you've done?"

"Yeah,"

"Well…?"

"Oh, right," Dick laughed, "Okay, so first there was the sticker chart. That worked really well, actually! It got Damian to do his chores, at the very least,"

Damian sniffed, "I only did them for the reward,"

"Sure you did, Baby,"

"I'm not a baby," The boy hissed, jumping from the armchair he was in to his father's side, "Father, I am not a Baby,"

"I'm sure you're not, Damian," Bruce cooed, and kissed the boy's cheek.

"Anyway, Damian, did you have any accidents before I started the sticker chart?"

Damian scowled, and pondered for a minute, "No,"

"Can you remember when the first accident was?"

"Hm…" The boy curled up into a ball, thinking. He was silent for a few minutes, during which everyone was patient, just waiting for him to speak, "Just after the first time out,"

"Do you know why?"

Damian was visibly upset, and Bruce wrapped his arm around the boy, pulling him up onto his lap.

He shook his head and buried his face into his father's shoulder.

"That's okay, Damian," Bruce whispered, pressing kissed to the boy's forehead, "It's okay. We'll figure it out together, okay?"

Dick sat quietly, and noticed Tim shifting nervously to the side, "What's up, Timmy?"

"Um…" Tim was obviously uncomfortable, and he blushed furiously, "I don't know if it'll help, but I used to wet the bed… And, um, it used to be mostly when I was cold, and when my parents left me home alone,"

"Aw, Timmy," Dick cooed playfully, walking over and lifting Tim up, "You are so brave,"

"Of course Drake wet the bed," Damian chuckled, "He's weak,"

"Damian," Dick scolded, "That's cruel. Tim is trying to make you feel better, and you're laughing at him?"

Tim, on the other hand, was giggling, "At least I never crapped my pants, Damian. I think your accidents are much worse than mine were,"

The smallest boy scowled and sent a pointed glare at Tim, who only smiled back.

"Now, now, you two," Bruce chided half-heartedly, "So, I'm curious, Dick. What else did you try? We've got time-outs, and a sticker chart,"

"I grounded him… Once," Dick said sheepishly, "That didn't work out so well,"

"What happened?"

"West," Damian stated, and the room fell into another awkward silence.

Dick cleared his throat at the glare he was receiving from Bruce, "Um, Wally may or may not have given Damian a concussion,"

"That bastard did _what_!?"

"Bruce, calm down," Dick put Tim down and walked over to his foster-father, "Yes, Wally hurt Damian. _But_, that allowed him to see that Damian really is normal, and now they actually get along! It's a relief, given what their relationship was like before,"

"Hm," Bruce hummed, unconvinced, "What else did you try?"

"Well, the last thing we tried was spanking. That worked, but again, Wally got carried away –"

"You let Wally _hit _my son!?" Bruce was outraged, and he stood, grabbing the front of Dick's shirt, "You fucking _dick_,"

Tim giggled, "No shit, Sherlock. He literally _is _Dick,"

"Tim, now's not the time,"

The teen looked hurt, but shut his mouth and sat back down on the couch.

"Don't be mad at Tim, Bruce,"

The Dark Knight glared down, and released the younger man, "Let's have our tea,"

The four heroes sat quietly for a while, drinking and nibbling at the biscuits laid out by Alfred.

Eventually, Damian couldn't take the tension anymore, and he felt fat tears leaking down his cheeks, "Father?" He croaked.

"Hey, Dami –" Bruce startled, "Why are you crying!?"

Dick looked up, "Damian?"

"P-p-please don't b-be mad at D-d-d-Dick," He sobbed.

"Hey, Darling," Bruce cooed, reaching down to the boy and lifting him up, "I'm not mad at Dickie,"

"But y-y-you were yelling," It had gotten to the point where Damian was gasping for air, and Bruce's rocking didn't seem to be helping the boy calm down, "An-a-and you w-were –"

Damian coughed and spluttered, and his tears increased.

Dick walked over and took the boy from Bruce's arms, rocking him side-to-side and pressing kisses into his hair, "It's okay, Baby," He whispered, rubbing circles on the small of Damian's back, "Even if your Daddy _was _mad at me, he wouldn't hurt me. Don't worry,"

The sobs subsided until eventually Damian was just hiccoughing occasionally, and Dick continued to rock him back and forth until the hiccoughs were replaced with tiny snores.

"He's a good boy, Bruce," Dick whispered, handing the boy back to his father, "He just needs a bit of special attention,"

"I've realised that…"

"I sense a 'but' in there,"

"Dick, I can't give him the attention he needs and deserves," Bruce turned to Dick, desperate, "Please come back and help me,"

Dick sighed, and was quiet for a short while, before answering, "Sure, Bruce,"

**So… Dickie's moving back in.**


	9. Soap and Water

**Driving up to see Mum's ****_partner _****is very dull… It's a little awkward, too, because I recently found out that they were engaged at one point, and didn't get married because of me…**

**Anyway, I hope you're all enjoying this story. This chapter will include a different idea, given to me by a guest reviewer – I used to get this done to me, but differently. My God-mother would put chilli paste in my mouth, and not allow me to wash it off or eat bread or drink milk to stop the pain. At that point in time, we didn't know that I'm allergic to chilli.**

**A Guest reviewer asked why Dick is calling Damian names like 'Baby' and 'Darling', and that's because in my experience, parents often have pet names like that for their children. Dick may not be Damian's actual father, but he's pretty damn close to.**

Damian slept right through the night, and woke up at seven twenty the next morning. He'd been placed in his bed at some point, and when he felt around he realised that once again during the night he'd wet himself.

Luckily, he hadn't soiled himself.

He was putting the contents of his laundry basket in the washing machine when Alfred walked in on him, and the boy jumped back, shrieking a colourful expletive that would have made a sailor blush.

"Young Master," The butler admonished, "I would prefer it if you refrained from using that kind of language,"

However, Alfred smiled kindly and walked over to Damian, whose face had gone bright red, "I see you've had another accident,"

The old man waited patiently with the child until the boy finally nodded.

"It's perfectly natural, Young Master," Alfred smiled, "In fact, your father used to have the same problem,"

"He did?" The boy sounded incredulous, "But he's so… strong,"

"It's nothing to do with strength, Master Damian," The butler pulled the small boy into a hug, "Your father went through a traumatic experience, and he was under so much stress that he just had accidents. I feel that it's similar to what's happening with you,"

"But I haven't – I mean,"

"Master Damian, you've been through a lot, and the stress is too much for your small body to handle. It's perfectly alright,"

Damian scowled, "I'm not small,"

"Whatever you say, Sir," Alfred chuckled, and went back to doing the laundry.

The boy smiled slightly, and ran back to his room to get cleaned up.

"How's my Baby this morning?" Dick asked, as Damian walked into the kitchen.

"Not a baby," The boy growled. Dick kissed the top of the boy's head and went back to eating, "I'm too fucking hungry for this,"

"Oi," Bruce shouted, "Watch your tongue,"

The boy looked up, confused, before turning back to the toaster. He put in two pieces of cinnamon toast, and pressed down the lever.

"So, little boy," Bruce's voice was deep and threatening, "What do you say when you're asked to do something?"

"Bruce," Dick warned, "Don't do this,"

"Don't do what?" Bruce was confused.

"Damian doesn't understand half of what we do," Dick said, pulling aside Bruce to whisper, "Before you talk to him like that, you need to explain why,"

Bruce was dumbfounded. Explain? Why would he need to explain?

"I don't understand…"

"I'll explain it to you later. We can do lunch, or something,"

The two men nodded at each-other, and went back to their own breakfasts.

"So, where's Alfred this morning?" Bruce asked light-heartedly.

Damian stopped eating and looked at the ground. Dick sensed his nervousness, "Damian? You okay, Baby?"

The boy left his food and walked over to Dick, snuggling into him, and he leant up to the man's ear, "I had an accident last night. And it was worse than usual, because I didn't realise that it happened," He choked at the last part, and Dick wrapped his arms around the boy.

"Aw, Darling," He crooned, kissing the boy's cheek, "That's okay, Baby,"

Bruce came over and closed his arms around his first and last sons. He kissed both of them on the cheek, and smiled as they cuddled into him.

"Damian," The older man whispered, "Dick and I have a meeting with the Justice League today. Would you like to come with us?"

The boy shook his head and wrapped his arms around Dick's neck, not allowing himself to be put back down.

"Would you like me to carry you there?" Dick asked, smiling.

This time Damian nodded, smiling into Dick's neck.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'," Dick laughed, and gave the boy a kiss, "Let's go get ready, huh?"

Bruce smiled as he watched the two boys leave the room. He followed them out, and together they left for the meeting.

The circular table that the Justice League sat around vibrated when Superman brought down his fist.

"It's unacceptable,"

"Why we have to have a Christmas party is beyond me,"

"Come on, Batman," Nightwing laughed, "It'll be fun!"

Robin nodded his agreement from where he was perched on Dick's shoulders, "Yes, Father," His head bobbed excitedly, "It will be fun,"

"Well, aren't you feeling chipper today?"

The boy smiled, and jumped off his ex-guardian, running out of the room to play.

It was later on that Damian's mood started to go south. He quickly became moody and aggressive, and while a few snappish comments were usual for the boy, when he yelled at Dick, however, that was when it was decided he went home for the day.

"You were so good this morning, Damian," Nightwing chided, "What happened?"

"Nothing," The stubborn child answered, crossing his arms.

"Damian, please," The man was exasperated, "Why can't you tell me what's wrong, Baby?"

"Fuck off," Damian snapped, "Just shut the fuck up,"

Dick gasped, "Damian,"

The boy pouted and sunk down in his chair, "Let's just get home,"

The two heroes were silent for the rest of the drive home, and after arriving the younger quickly made himself scarce, while Dick made his way to the kitchen.

"Hey, Alfred," He called, walking into the kitchen.

"Hello, Master Dick," The butler was surprised, "Why are you home so early?"

"Damian was being a brat. His language is atrocious," The young man complained, walking over to the fridge.

He poured himself a glass of orange juice and sat down, looking up when Alfred came over and joined him.

"Master Dick, may I give you a suggestion that you won't find in any parenting books?"

"Knock yourself out, Alf,"

The elderly man smiled, "I actually used this on Master Jason several times, have you ever been threatened with having your mouth washed out with soap?"

"Yeah, Alf," Dick said cautiously, "You used to say that all the time,"

"Well, try it,"

"Huh?" Dick gaped at the man he'd come to love as a grandfather.

Alfred just smiled, "Go upstairs, find Damian, and rinse his mouth out with soap,"

Dick drained the rest of his juice and stood, mentally preparing himself for what would surely be a battle of epic proportions.

The boy muttered darkly as he threw things around his room. _Where is it? _He searched frantically, so absorbed that he didn't even notice an older man walking up behind him.

"Damian," Dick's voice startled the boy so much that he jumped.

"Grayson," He hissed, "What the _fuck_ are you doing in my room?"

"Doing something I probably should have done a long time ago," Dick said, and picked up Damian. The young man carried his charge to the bathroom, where he grabbed a bar of soap from next to the sink.

"What are you going to do?" Damian sneered, "Hit me with the soap?"

"No," Dick said calmly, beckoning for the child to come over. He sat down on the edge of the bathtub, "I'm going to wash your mouth out, Baby,"

"You're going to what?" The boy asked, before dissolving into a fit of giggles.

Dick glared, but waited patiently until the giggles subsided.

"Are you done?"

"I think so," Damian whispered, "That was silly, Dick. What are you really going to do?"

The man raised an eyebrow, "I wasn't joking," He pulled Damian down into his lap and opened the boy's mouth forcibly. Then, swiftly, he put in the bar of soap, rubbing it everywhere he could reach, all the while ignoring the child's violent attempts at escape.

When he finally took the soap out of the boy' mouth, Damian pulled back immediately, spitting.

"What was that?"

"You were swearing a lot today, Damian. Are you going to tell me what that was about?"

Damian frowned, "What does that have to do with anything?"

"This morning you were very happy, and you went off to play. After you got back, you were grumpy and started swearing. Did something happen? Or were you just having a mood swing?"

The boy shuffled his feet uncomfortably, "Something happened," He mumbled, and suddenly hid his face in his hands.

Dick heard the first sob, and cuddled Damian close, "Hey, kiddo," He said, "Let's rinse out your mouth with some water and talk about it, 'kay?"

The boy nodded and allowed himself to be led to the sink, where Dick filled a glass with water and handed it to him.

They made their way back to Damian's bedroom after he'd rinsed and spit out the soap suds.

"So, Baby, can you tell me what happened?"

The man waited patiently for the boy to spill the beans, but when Damian said nothing, Dick stood up. He wrapped his arms around the boy in a hug, and whispered in his ear, "Stay up here until your Daddy gets home, 'kay? You can talk to him. If you want to talk to me, though, I'll be in my old bedroom,"

Dick left the room, and Damian broke down crying.

**Well, well, well… So many followers! I'm flattered that you guys enjoy my story so much!**

**Another thank you to ****nightmare****, who I unfortunately cannot respond to. I'm glad that you enjoy the story! Stick around for some more.**


	10. A Sickly Sleepy Excursion

**My goodness, I love you guys… I should really be working on ****_Punishments_****, but it's so dark at the moment, and I'm not very motivated by darkness.**

**I'm putting a little Romanian-Rant in here, if you don't mind; So, after finally seeing ****_Breaking Dawn II_**** yesterday, I have been reminded of an awful mistake of Stephenie Meyer's while writing; Vladimir is NOT a Romanian name. It is a Russian name. Stefan, sure, but NOT VLADIMIR. Rant over.**

**However, I had an idea given to me by my young cousin, which I shall utilise now that he's left my house. We spent the day together, building my Christmas present (I got a bookshelf!) and afterwards, he was so tired that he collapsed in the living room and fell asleep. It was ever so adorable!**

**Anyway, this chapter is just a bit of fluffiness.**

After three days straight of Damian waking up soaked, Dick decided that it would be best if Damian started wearing goodnites. Damian, however, was adamant that they were for weaklings, and blatantly refused them.

"Come on, Damian," Dick begged, "If you wear them, then you won't have all of those sticky sheets to deal with, and you won't get any more diaper rash –"

The man was cut off by a dark glare.

"_What _rash, Grayson?"

Dick gave a blank look to the boy, "Diaper rash," He repeated, "You know; Red. Scratchy. Painful,"

The boy flushed, "I know what it is, Grayson," He looked away from Dick and mumbled shyly, "Just don't call it that,"

For a second, the older man couldn't figure out quite what had happened, but realisation eventually dawned on him, and he let out a chuckle, "Aw, Damian," He laughed, "You shouldn't be embarrassed over it, Baby,"

"I'm not embarrassed," The child snapped, glaring at his ex-guardian, "Anyway, these _goodnites_; Why should I wear them? I'm perfectly happy dealing with this – This _problem_ in other ways,"

Seeing that the boy was growing increasingly stressed, Dick decided to steer the conversation in another direction, "Damian," He said, tickling the boy's side, "I was thinking, maybe today we should do something together. You know – Just you and me,"

"Like what?" Damian was attempting to sound apathetic, but was really quite intrigued.

"Hm," Dick pretended to think for a moment; he already knew what they would do, "You know, I believe there's a circus in town, and I happen to have two tickets," He produced from his pocket two bright yellow tickets, "What do you say?"

The boy eyed the tickets suspiciously for a moment, before nodding his head slightly, "I suppose that could be interesting," He whispered.

"I suppose it could," Dick cuddled his 'brother' for a few seconds before standing and holding out his hand, "Shall we?"

Damian gave another small nod and placed his hand into Dick's.

On the trip to the circus, Damian had struggled to keep the physical closeness of he and Dick to a minimum, however, upon arriving the crowded site, he had quickly grabbed hold of the back of the older man's shirt, and refused to let go.

"Damian," Dick cooed, "You have to let go, Baby. I need to sit down,"

The child shook his head, sneaking a glance at the immense amount of people around them.

"Baby," Dick sighed.

"Not a baby," Damian mumbled, wrapping his arms tightly around the man.

"I know you're not a baby, Damian," He whispered, "Do you want me to hold you on my lap?"

Damian paused for a few moments before giving a shaky, absolutely _tiny _nod of his head.

Dick smiled widely, "Okay, Damian. Up we go," And he hoisted the child up before taking his seat.

After a few minutes, the show started with a fat man walking into the middle of the ring, "Ladies and gentlemen," He cried, "Boys and girls; I'd like to welcome you to Goodchild's Circus Extrordinaire,"

A round of polite applause, and the man continued, "I'd like to welcome a very special audience member here today; An old performer from Haly's Circus; Dick Grayson,"

Dick held on tightly to Damian and stood up, giving a small wave to the crowd before sitting back down.

"You used to perform?" Damian asked shyly, looking up at Dick.

"Yeah," The man laughed, "I did. My mamica, tati and I used to be trapeze artists,"

Damian frowned for a second, "They died of falling from the trapeze," He said cautiously.

"Yes," Dick smiled sadly, "They did,"

"You came from a circus. Doesn't being here make you sad?"

"Only a little, Baby. Only a little," The man whispered, "Now hush; The show's starting,"

Damian held on tightly to Dick for the rest of the show, watching in awe of some of the acts in particular; The horse-riding and the lion tamer. After the show, he held on tightly to Dick's hand, speaking animatedly about what they'd seen.

"… and the lion tamer was able to stick his _whole head _inside the lion's mouth, Grayson! Do you think I could do that one day? It was _amazing_…" Damian babbled on and on, and Dick half-listened until he saw a familiar face in the crowd.

"Wally," He called, waving over his friend, "Hi,"

The red-head and his family wandered over, and the adults started talking, leaving Damian feeling slightly lonely. He refused to let go of Dick's hand.

When Jai and Iris saw this, they started snickering, "Look at the baby," Iris laughed, "He has to hold Dickie's hand,"

Wally and Dick were too involved in their conversation to notice the childrens' interactions.

Damian gripped tighter to the dark-haired man's hand, and tried to avoid looking at the children mocking him.

"Stupid baby," Jai laughed, and Damian felt even more upset. Jai had been the one defending him last time the three were together.

Tears started welling in his eyes, and Damian fought them back, hugging Dick's side.

_Stop ignoring me_, He silently begged.

"Hey, Damian," Wally smiled, bending down to Damian's level, "What's wrong, kiddo?"

The boy sniffed a few times before trying to get Dick's attention again. It didn't work, because the man was currently talking to the twins.

"So, how's school going?" He asked them, smiling happily.

Iris and Jai smiled innocently, "It's really good, Uncle Dick!" They chorused.

"I learned a heap of cool stuff in math," Jai enthused, jumping up and down, "We learned about square numbers last week,"

"And I learned how to play a new game at play-time," Iris said smugly, "Can Damian come play?"

The child shook his head fearfully at the same time that Dick said, "I'm sure he'd love to,"

"No," Damian moaned, clinging desperately to his ex-guardian, "Nonononono,"

"Hey, Damian?" Dick looked down, finally noticing the boy's hysterical state, "Baby, what's wrong?"

"Mm," The boy moaned again, and promptly threw up all over Dick's shoes.

"Oh, dear," Dick cooed softly, picking up his charge, "Wally, I think we should probably continue this later, man,"

"No shit," The red-head laughed, and he picked up his twins, "I'll see you guys later. And feel better, little D," He called out as the two groups walked away from each-other.

Damian snuggled into Dick as the man carried him to the car.

"Damian, were you feeling sick earlier? You could have told me,"

"Nuh-uh," The boy groaned.

"'Nuh-uh' you didn't know you were sick, or 'nuh-uh' you couldn't have told me?"

Biting back a groan, Damian attempted to give an answer, but it came out more like a garbled mess.

"Well, you don't have a fever," Dick pondered, "Let's stop by the supermarket before we head home, 'kay?"

Not having the strength to answer, Damian just let Dick do as he pleased.

Arriving at the supermarket, Dick quickly located a trolley and placed Damian in the child-seat, earning some strange looks from other customers.

Damian opened his eyes and looked around for a moment, assessing the dangers. Apparently, nothing particularly dangerous was present, and he swiftly fell back to sleep.

"That seems about right," Dick chuckled under his breath, and went on a quick search.

First of all, a benefit of Damian being asleep was that he couldn't fight the purchase of goodnites, and so into the basket they went.

Dick was also in need of some more parenting books, so he quickly went into a section that shelved a few books. No parenting books, but one that he thought would be a good idea to buy was entitled _How to Make Friends_. He tossed it in, and continued onwards.

This went on for a while; Dick would think of something that they needed, go and find it, then put it in the basket. Eventually, when he had all of the items he could think of, he went to the counter.

After quickly purchasing the goods, Dick managed to balance Damian on one hip while carrying several bags of shopping, _I knew I should have asked Alfred to do this_, He thought to himself, as he struggled to get everything in his car.

He buckled Damian into the back seat, and sped off home.

"Okay, Sweetheart," Dick whispered, picking Damian up out of the car. Alfred watched the two carefully, with a broad smile on his face.

"He's taken a liking to you," The butler commented, walking side-by-side with the young man.

Dick smiled, "I've noticed. We'd better get him to bed, anyhow,"

"That we had, Master Dick," Alfred nodded, and they parted ways.

The dark-haired man cuddled the boy in his arms tightly as he walked up the stairs. In his free hand, he held one of the bought objects.

Slipping quietly into Damian's room, he got the boy dressed for bed, including a goodnite, which he would probably be attacked about later, and just as he was about to leave, a small voice came from the bed:

"Daddy, where are you going?"

Dick felt himself jump, and he could have sworn he felt his heart stop for a moment. He turned to face the small boy, who was just sitting up.

"I'm going so that you can get some sleep, Baby," He said in a quiet voice, walking back over to the bed. He placed a kiss on Damian's forehead, "You were sick earlier; You probably need the rest,"

Damian gave a sleepy nod, and quickly fell back to sleep. Dick stood, and left the room quickly, not even daring to close the door.

**So… What do you guys think? I've been doing my research… again, and I've found some more techniques that I shall use.**

**You can see an epic picture of my cousin if you'd like. It's here – www. Redbubble people/ ianperiwinkle/ works/ 9866399-home-is-where-photos-come-to-die (Just remove the spaces)**


	11. Bullying

**Well, heaps of people loved the last chapter. I shall reward you with some more! **

**To the question: Yes, Damian will tell somebody what the twins said, but it won't be Dick. It shall be a member of the league, who he doesn't particularly like. Three guesses who!**

Sitting on a couch in the Watchtower, Damian waited for Dick to come out of a League meeting. He was kept company by several people, including, much to his chagrin, the West twins.

"So, Damian," Iris sneered, "I haven't seen you since you puked. Did Dickie have to hold your hand all night?"

The boy flushed and kept his mouth shut. After some unfortunate incidents at school, Dick had warned Damian to ignore anyone saying cruel things about him. The words had stuck, and Damian found himself unable to say anything to the girl or her laughing brother.

Drake wasn't there, so he couldn't rely on Red Robin to back him up, and unfortunately, all of the others there only knew how cruel he could be. They weren't going to help him.

Superboy gave a sneer and walked away, announcing to the room that he was going to go and get a coffee from the canteen, "If anyone else wants some, they're welcome to join me," He called over his shoulder.

Damian made to get up, but the clone snorted, "Not _you_," He laughed, "The caffeine would probably make you _cry_," He feigned wiping tears from his eyes.

"Yeah," Iris cackled, "Just like a little baby,"

Tears prickled in his eyes, but Damian refused to let them fall. He stood and tore from the room, leaving in his wake a bunch of cackling children.

He ran through the halls, not bothering to pay attention to where he was going, and suddenly knocked into someone.

"Hey," The person cried angrily, "What on Earth?"

Damian tripped and fell, scraping his cheek on the floor, and he lost it, starting to sob heavily.

The man walked over to him and picked him up, "Are you okay?" He asked, "Should I go get Batman?"

The child shook his head and tried to get away from the man. It was Captain Atom, and he wasn't particularly fond of the hero.

"Hold it, kiddo," Nathanial said, holding the boy in place, "We should at least take a look at that nasty graze,"

The man started walking back towards the canteen, as the med-bay was on the opposite side, and Damian groaned, 'Please, no,"

But Nathanial chose to ignore this plea, and walked straight through the canteen, where the group had migrated to. They took one look at Damian in the Leaguer's arms and burst out laughing.

"Oh my God," Connor cackled, "Seriously? You went to an adult?"

"No, he didn't," Nathanial glared at the clone, "He tripped over,"

"So he tripped over," Iris laughed, "And now he's crying? What a baby,"

Atom glared at the children for a moment, who had all joined in on making fun of the boy, and briskly walked out of the room.

He pushed open the door to the med-bay, and placed Damian on the bed. The boy was still crying, and now his face was wet with blood _and _tears.

"Are they always mean to you like that?" The man asked softly, closing the door.

Damian nodded quietly, trying to stop his tears. He knew he was being childish.

"That must be awful,"

The boy felt his chin being tilted up, and winced in pain when alcohol was rubbed over the graze.

"I know," Nathanial soothed, "It's painful, right? But it'll stop infection, and help the cut heal properly,"

Damian gritted his teeth and nodded, wincing again when a band-aid was put on over the graze.

"There you go," The older hero clapped Robin on the back and helped him down, "Weren't you brave, huh?"

The boy stubbornly shook his head 'no'.

"Listen," Nathanial said sheepishly, "I know you don't like me very much, and I'm not exactly fond of you, either, but what those kids were saying; It was wrong. You're a pretty good kid, actually, and you're a heck of a lot braver than any of them,"

Nodding quietly, Damian allowed Nathanial to take him over to the sink and wash his face.

"They could take a leaf or two out of your book," The man joked, "I mean, you hardly reacted at all to the wound. Most of them, barring Connor, anyway, would have screamed and cried like babies when I put on the peroxide,"

Damian let out a giggle, and Atom smiled, "There we go," He said, and picked up the boy again, "Let's get you back to Nightwing,"

They waked to the Conference Room, past the still-laughing teenagers, and Atom poked his head in, "Nightwing," He said, "You've got some other business to attend to,"

Dick stood up, confused, "I do?"

"Yep,"

"Okay, then," The man walked out of the room, and as soon as he was out, Nathanial handed Damian to him.

"Oh, Lord," He sighed, "What did Robin do this time?"

"It wasn't him. The other kids were making fun of him," Nathanial watched as Damian tensed, and buried his face in Dick's chest, "Calling him a baby and such,"

Dick rubbed Damian's back, "You didn't attack them, did you?"

The boy shook his head.

"You didn't swear at them?"

Again, Damian shook his head and held on tightly to the man.

"Have they done this before?"

Dick noticed Damian freeze for a second, before giving a very hesitant nod.

"Oh, Baby," Nightwing cooed, and he kissed Robin's forehead, "You should have told me,"

The man gave a nod to his fellow Leaguer, who took that as his cue to leave. Before entering the conference room, however, he leant in close and kissed Damian on the band-aid, "Take care, Robin,"

Nightwing hoisted Robin up a bit higher and they headed back home.

**Again, not a technique, but a short, sweet little moment. I hope you enjoyed it, guys!**


	12. Hiding and Tantrums

**Now, on with the story. I was thinking about the last chapter, and decided that I wanted to go on and make it a sort of… arc. This is going to be focusing on Damian's self-esteem issues more than anything, as well as on Dick's problems with Bruce.**

**This is my most popular story, and I am ever so grateful to you guys for reading it, and sticking with it.**

**And remember: No matter how cute it gets, you are absolutely NOT allowed to die from cuteness overload. You hear me?**

Bruce hung his head, completely and totally worn. The meeting that Dick had unexpectedly left had turned into a battle between the women in the room. For whatever reason, the young man had a certain soothing quality about him which applied to women in particular. Women and Damian.

"Hey, Bruce," Said man laughed, walking into the kitchen, "How was the meeting?"

"I'm not sure whether to tell you about how awful it was, how violent it was, or how scary it was," Bruce replied sullenly.

Dick stared at Bruce for a moment before bursting out into a fir of giggles, "What happened?" he cackled.

"Clark heard you and commented that you were too young to be 'acting Daddy', then Diana sort of… Well… You know how she gets,"

"Ah,"

"And then it broke out into a bit of a fight,"

"Ah," Dick looked at the ground, "Okay. I'm not sure if this is a good time to mention this, but I feel like I need to; Damian's getting bullied. I've managed to calm him down enough to tell me what's going on, but he needs a lot of support, Bruce," He looked his adopted father in the eye, "You need to start helping him out,"

Bruce glared, "How can _I _help him? I hardly had a normal childhood. I wouldn't know what to do,"

"And you think I did?"

"I didn't mean it like –"

"Didn't mean it like what, Bruce?" Dick roared, "You died, and I was left guardian to a ten-year-old who is more screwed up than Jason and myself put together –"

There was a gasp from the doorway, and both men turned to see Damian standing there, wrapped in his blanket. He stood there silently for a few seconds before turning and running away.

"Shit," Dick swore, "Damian," He ran to the spot where the boy had disappeared from.

Bruce stood where he was, dumbfounded.

Small feet padded against the hard flooring as Damian ran. He didn't know where he was going to go, nor did he realise what he was doing. But he couldn't stop hearing Dick's words in his ears, _'I was left… more screwed up than Jason…'_

He tried to blink back the tears, but found that he couldn't. He suddenly felt himself lifted and turned his head to see Dick holding him.

"No," He cried, and squirmed, trying to get out of the man's grip, "No!"

"Calm down, Damian," Dick shushed the boy, "Calm down. You didn't hear everything,"

The boy kicked blindly, and managed to hit Dick's nose. It bent back with a _crack_, and Damian sped off once more. Dick knelt down and felt the lump.

He winced in pain, and deciding that Damian wasn't going to leave the house, went to find Alfred.

Bruce eventually found himself headed out of the kitchen, in search of his young son.

"Damian," He called, "Where are you?"

Not that he hadn't had experience in searching for little Robins, but he hadn't ever had to find _this one_. He knew all of the others' hiding places; Dick would climb to the highest point, Jason would go into the darkest spot he could find, and Tim would lock himself in a cupboard. But he didn't know where Damian would disappear to.

First, he headed up to the boy's bedroom. He surveyed it quickly before dismissing it as the hiding place; An open packet of goodnites was half-hidden under the bed, and checking the time, Bruce deemed it a good idea to take one with him. It was past ten at night, and Damian should have been in bed two hours ago.

He quickly left the room and headed to his previous sons' hiding places. First, he tried the lockable cupboards. No Damian.

Then, he tried to find the darkest spot in the house, but that seemed to be something that only Jason had the skills to do.

Next, he climbed. He got out onto the roof, and headed for the top, but still, no Damian could be found.

He was about to give up, and started walking back to Damian's bedroom, when he heard a shower running in one of the bathrooms. He knew that Dick was being treated by Alfred (besides which, he'd showered earlier in the evening), and cautiously knocked on the door. No response.

So, he kicked it open, and walked over to the shower. He pulled back the curtain to reveal a fully clothed Damian sobbing under the running water.

"Damian," Bruce said sternly, "Get out,"

The boy shook his head, and curled up into a small ball.

"Get out," The man shouted, and he leant in, yanking Damian out roughly.

The child squirmed and shouted as Bruce dragged him over to the towel rack and stripped him, grumbling under his breath about bratty, screwed-up kids.

Rubbing the now-naked child down roughly with a towel, Bruce heard soft sniffles in his ear.

He looked at Damian's face, and was shocked to see tears dripping down both cheeks.

Bruce sighed, "Damian, Dick didn't mean that he didn't want or like you,"

The boy hiccoughed, "B-but he said –"

"I know what he said. He was angry at me,"

"Why?"

The man had to think on that for a moment, "He doesn't think that I'm a good enough father to you,"

"Why?"

"That's enough questions out of you," Bruce growled playfully, tickling his son. The boy giggled a bit, and Bruce said, "Now, let's get you into this goodnite, and then into bed,"

The boy's smile faded, and he pouted at Bruce, "No,"

"No?"

"No," Damian's pout became a glare, "No. I don't need it,"

Bruce snorted, "Given the state of your bed-sheets, I'd say you do,"

The boy sniffled, and Bruce realised his mistake, but before he could do anything, his face met with Damian's foot.

"Don't need it!" The boy shrieked, and he started hitting Bruce over and over, "Don't need it! No! Nonononono,"

"Damian," Bruce shouted, "Stop!"

The man stood and picked up his son, "That's enough," Bruce wasn't shouting. His voice was icy cold, and he pulled Damian by the scruff of his neck to the toilet.

"Over my knee," He ordered sharply.

Damian looked at the man nervously, but at a sharp glare from Bruce, quickly obliged.

_Smack_, Bruce's hand came down without warning, and Damian cried out in pain, _Smack, smack, smack_.

"Richard told me that I should only smack you ten times, so consider yourself lucky,"

Damian squirmed and kicked a bit more, trying to get away, _Smack_.

_Smack, smack, smack_.

"Two more, now," Bruce's voice was calmer, and he kissed the top of the boy's head, _Smack, smack_.

It was over. Bruce picked up his son and cradled him in his arms for a few seconds before reaching over and picking up the goodnite. He stood the boy up and slipped on the garment, earning a reproachful glare from Damian.

"I know you don't like it," The man couldn't help but chuckle, "But it's better than waking up wet every morning, isn't it?"

Sullenly Damian nodded, and Bruce stood to leave, but stopped when he saw Damian holding his arms out.

"What?"

The boy flushed, and fumbled for a moment.

"Do you want me to carry you?"

Damian nodded, trying not to seem eager about it, but smiled in delight when his father lifted him up.

"I love you, Father," He whispered quietly.

"I love you, too, Damian,"

**I need to thank you guys! I'm enjoying some of the ideas that you're giving me. If anyone has a request, feel free to drop me a line.**

**Also, I recently designed a Captain Cold Tee, and I'm working on the rest of the Flash Rogues, but if anyone has an idea for a shirt that they'd like, feel free to tell me.**


	13. Separation Anxiety

**Sorry I haven't updated in a few days… I've had work and homework, and more work, and art projects, and all of this crap and stuff.**

**Again, if anyone wants a particular design for a tee, you can PM me or leave it in a review, and I'll give you a link. So far, I've done Weather Wizard, Captain Cold and Kid Flash (in a blue uniform)…**

**Somebody pointed out that I have made several grammatical mistakes, and I'd like to clear this up: I speak a very different English to you. I am actually using correct English, only my style is strange enough that it's not easy to recognise. Although, I wouldn't mind you pointing out what you think is wrong – I'll work on it. As for describing, I'm used to poetry. If I start describing body language, it could become very painful for people reading. I am going to try it out, though…**

Dick snickered as he watched his father puzzle over the book in front of him, "_Frequent praise_? What? Why would he –"

"Don't ignore the words," Dick warned in a mock-serious turn, picking up the book, "'Frequent praise involves praising your child for anything good he does'," He thought for a few seconds, "This'd be good for Damian. He needs a boost to his self-esteem,"

Bruce snorted, snatching back the book, "I doubt it,"

"I don't,"

"He's stuck up as it is, Dick," Bruce said with a frown, "He doesn't need me to stroke his ego,"

"You don't get what I mean, Bruce," Dick walked briskly over to the fireplace, taking up a photograph from the mantle, "He's so shy – The opposite of what I was when I came to you. He doesn't know the first thing about being social; Heck, he doesn't even know what being social is!

"He needs help, Bruce. He needs to know that he's good,"

The older man eyed his first and oldest 'son' wearily, "I just don't see how he is,"

"Bruce," Dick glared at his father-figure, "He's your son. He's a _ten-year-old boy_ – He's not evil; He's just very, very confused,"

"Confused my ass,"

"Bruce!"

"Dick, he isn't confused. If he has you fooled into thinking he is, then you're not as good a detective as I thought you were,"

The acrobat folded his arms and left the room, and Bruce laughed, casting aside the book.

Bruce reached over for a bottle of whiskey and poured himself a glass, toasting to nothing and drinking deeply.

"'Frequent praise'," He scoffed.

Damian sighed and looked at his lap. His shoulders were hunched slightly, and Dick could tell that he was worried.

"Hey," He said lightly, "Don't worry,"

"I'm not worried," The boy pouted, but his lower lip trembled and gave him away.

Dick smiled warmly at his charge. The changes that he'd seen in the boy over the past few months were dramatic, but in a good way, "Of course not," He laughed, "But still, I'll hold your hand if you want,"

The boy continued to look down, and stayed silent. His brow furrowed in concentration for a few moments before he quietly answered, "If you insist,"

"It's okay to be scared or upset, you know," Dick sighed lightly, pulling up at a red light, "And it's not for too long. Besides, Roy is my friend –"

"So is West,"

Damian sounded rejected, and Dick leaned over, placing a kiss on the boy's cheek.

"Damian," He whispered, "I never meant for you to get hurt. I know that it's going to be hard for you to trust Wally and his kids again, but Roy I a very different person. Yes, he's more likely to get angry, but he has a little girl in the house, and he's never hurt her,"

"West hadn't hurt his children, either,"

"Okay," Inside his head Dick swore at himself for using such a weak argument, "That's true. Roy has had a hard past, Damian. I'm pretty certain that he won't hurt you, but you can always call me and tell me if you feel uncomfortable,"

"But," The boy's voice caught, and he looked away sharply.

"'But' what, Damian?"

Damian shifted uncomfortably, wringing his hands together, "What if you don't answer?"

_He's worried about me? _Dick thought with slight surprise, "Why wouldn't I answer, baby?" He asked, wrapping one arm around Damian's side and hugging him close.

The boy wriggled, but Dick held tight, and eventually Damian started sobbing quietly, "What if you got hurt? Or what if you died? What if you –" He choked slightly, and wailed, burying his face into Dick's side, "What if you just left?"

"Oh, Damian," The man cooed, pulling the car over before unlocking the child's seatbelt and pulling him onto his lap, "Baby, I won't just go. You know me better than that, don't you?"

"B-b-but," Damian's stutter was strong, as he tried to get out his words, "But that's – That's what ev-everybody s-s-says,"

"What does everyone say, Damian?" Dick was frantic, trying to calm the child on his lap down. Damian had started hyperventilating, and tears soaked through the front of the man's shirt, "Damian, what do they say?"

"They told me – They told me that – They said that you didn't want me," Damian sobbed, "They-they said that you should have gotten ri-ri-rid of me,"

Appalled, Dick held the boy close and picked up his phone, dialling his friend's number. It rang for a few moments before Roy answered, "What's up, Dick?"

"Hey, Roy. Listen –"

"Do I hear crying?"

"Yep. Listen, Damian's having a breakdown, and I'll probably be a bit later than I thought dropping him off – That okay with you?"

Dick heard what he thought was a 'yes', and rushed a goodbye, hanging up.

He opened the car door and hoisted Damian up, stepping out into a park. Quickly, Dick walked over to a bench and sat, setting Damian so that the boy straddled his hips.

"Okay, Damian," He soothed, "It's okay. Hush now,"

It took a while, but eventually the sobs subsided and a very embarrassed Damian looked up at Dick. His cheeks were flushed, and the rims of his eyes were bright pink from the crying.

"Daddy," He whispered it so quietly that Dick wondered at first if the word had even been uttered, "Promise you will come back?"

Dick smiled and kissed Damian's nose, earning a slight squeal of protest.

"I promise, Damian,"

It was past ten at night when Dick and Damian finally arrived at the Harper household, and Dick ended up carrying Damian up the stairs to the small apartment.

"You tired, Darling?" Dick asked when Damian nuzzled into his neck.

The boy shook his head sleepily, and gave a great yawn, "I'm not tired,"

"Is that so?" The man knocked on his friend's door. After a few minutes, no-one had answered, so Dick knocked again and this time there was a shuffling sound before the door swung open, revealing a ragged-looking Roy Harper.

"Hey, Dick," He yawned, "Hey kid," He laughed, spotting Damian half-asleep on his friend's shoulder.

Damian gave the man an apprehensive look before cuddling back into Dick.

"Sorry," Dick apologised, "He's worn out,"

"That's all right," Roy said with a chuckle, "Come on – He's sleeping in Lian's room,"

Dick looked startled, "Are you sure that's okay?"

"Of course, man. I know everyone's been telling me that he's dangerous, but you trust him, and that's good enough for me," The archer leaned in closely to the boy, "He can't be too bad,"

"He's brilliant," Dick smiled, and kissed Damian's forehead, "But he should really be in bed. Do you want me to help you get ready, Damian?"

Of course, the boy shook his head, but when Dick placed him down he could hardly stand.

"I think I'd better help you,"

This time Damian gave a shaky nod, and Dick lifted him back up, carrying him to the bathroom. He quickly got Damian dressed in his pyjamas, and helped the boy brush his teeth.

Roy smiled when the two came out, and took Damian from his friend, "Okay, kiddo," He laughed, "Let's get you into bed, eh?"

"Mind if I come in and say goodnight?"

"You probably better had – Kid won't be seeing you for a few days, will he?"

"Mm," Dick followed Roy into the kids' bedroom and spied Lian lying in a small bed, "How's Lian doing?"

Smiling eagerly, Roy was happy to answer, "She's really good. Started school this year,"

"I bet she loves that," Dick knelt down beside the mattress that Roy had set up on the floor, helping his friend tuck Damian in.

"Oh, she does. She has lots of friends,"

"I'm glad," The dark-haired man smiled happily, placing a kiss on his now-sleeping charge's forehead, "Take care of him for me, Roy,"

"He'll be fine," Roy smiled at his friend, and the two walked to the door, "Any particular instructions?"

"Let him know that he's good," Dick said, "And please, don't hit him,"

**Well, you've asked for Lian, and you're getting her! **


	14. Author's Note

**Just a little note here;**

**I know that I've told some people that I would update within about a week. I'm sorry that I haven't. I've just finished my first week of year 11, and I'm swamped with HEAPS of assignments and essays already. I'm writing in my spare time, but won't be able to update as frequently as I was over the Summer.**

**Sorry for that.**

**Anyway, if anybody has a request for any stories or artworks, feel free to PM me or leave something in a review. I usually try and take the time to respond, so don't be shy!**

**Also, I made a sale on RedBubble this morning. I'm very flattered, and very happy. **

**Cheers,**

IanP


	15. Waking Up With Strangers

**You guys are absolutely great. I'm so glad to have you as my readers!**

**For whatever reason, more and more people keep on following this story, which makes it so rewarding to write. That is why I'm doing it instead of homework, or writing ****_Punishments_****.**

**Sorry it took so long… **

Lian practically bounced into the kitchen the next morning, excitedly chattering. She latched onto her father's legs, shouting a happy "Good morning," before going on to ask him, "Why is there a boy in my room, Daddy?"

The man looked down and smiled, "Remember Daddy already told you? Uncle Dickie's little brother is staying here for a bit while the Justice League goes on a mission,"

"Oh," She looked down and frowned in concentration, "Should I go wake him up for breakfast?"

"No, Sweetie," Roy chuckled, "I'm going to go and wake him up when I've finished cooking. I think you might scare him a bit,"

The girl was dismayed, "I'm not scary!"

"No, you're not. You see, Damian's never been here before, and he's never met you. He's a bit shy, so being with a new person in a new place, straight after waking up might scare him,"

"Can he play with me?"

"Of course, Sweetheart, but you'll have to ask him first,"

The girl seemed satisfied with that answer, and climbed onto her chair. Roy quickly finished cooking, placed a bowl of oatmeal in front of his daughter and disappeared into her bedroom to wake up Damian.

He padded over the soft carpet and knelt down next to the mattress, shaking the sleeping boy slightly.

"Hey," He whispered, "Come on, Damian. Time to get up,"

Damian grumbled and turned to look at Roy, "Daddy?"

"Sorry, Kid. It's just me,"

The boy closed his eyes and sighed, "You're Roy?"

Roy smiled and pulled back the blankets, "I'm Roy," Reaching in he pulled Damian out and stood him up, "I know you won't like this, but Dick told me about your… Ah, accidents,"

Damian's eyes narrowed and he tried to pull away, closing in on himself slightly.

"Hey," Roy placed his hands on the boy's shoulders, "It's okay," He sensed Damian tensing and wrapped his arms around him slowly, "Are you wet?"

The boy didn't move for a while, and Roy slowly rubbed his back, "You okay, Damian?"

Damian sniffed, and tried to pull away again. This time, Roy let him move back, but didn't let him get away.

"Can you answer my question?"

Shaking his head, Damian crouched and put his arms around his knees. He tried to hide it, but Roy could see tears tracking down his face.

"What's wrong, Kiddo?" He asked, crouching down to be level with the sobbing boy, "Why all the tears?"

"I-I want –" Damian managed to stutter out before he began to sob harder.

Lian poked her head around the doorway and watched curiously. She could tell that the boy was much bigger than her, but he was crying like a little kid!

"Daddy?" She asked cautiously, "Why is Damian crying?"

"Hm? Hey, Sweetie," Roy turned away from Damian to see his daughter, "Listen, can you go and play for a while?"

"Why?"

The dreaded childhood question.

"Because Damian's a little bit scared. I need you to keep out for a little bit, okay?"

The little girl pouted, but agreed and walked off to watch television.

"Hey," Roy was back to looking at Damian, who was still sobbing, "Come here," He picked up the boy and carried him to the bathroom, stopping to grab the boy's duffel bag.

He placed Damian down on the toilet seat and unzipped the bag, looking through.

"Do you wanna take a shower? It's probably a good idea,"

Dark hair flopped about as he nodded, and he stood up shakily.

"I'll leave your bag here – You can put the goodnite in the bin under the sink, 'kay?"

Another shaky nod, and Roy suddenly found himself being pushed out of the room.

"Okay," He laughed, "I get the picture. Come into the kitchen when you're done,"

"Yes, sir," The voice was quiet, and shaky, and Roy felt a pang of guilt leaving Damian alone in the bathroom, but he sighed as the door was locked, and went to join his daughter.

Daffy Duck screamed something unintelligible from the screen, and Roy heard his daughter give a shout of glee.

Suddenly, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye.

"Damian?" He asked, turning around.

The boy had dressed in jeans and a button-up shirt, which Roy recognised as Dick's.

"What would you like on your oatmeal?"

"Mm," Damian thought for a second, but didn't say anything further. He put his hands in his pockets and rocked back and forth, avoiding the man's gaze.

_I remember this_, Roy realised, thinking back to when he was a child, "Okay, Damian," He said slowly, "Would you like honey, or jam on your oatmeal?"

There was a slight pause before Roy heard the mumbled reply of: "Jam,"

The man smiled, "Jam it is. Can you go and sit at the table for me? I'll bring the food over,"

A small nod and the boy was gone, slipping out the door to the living/dining room.

Roy smiled to himself and grabbed a bowl of oatmeal, dolloping a spoonful of bright jam onto it and taking it out to the table. Damian was sitting quietly on the edge of a chair, casting nervous glances to Lian, who was jumping around with the characters on TV.

"That's Lian," The man said, startling Damian, "She's almost six,"

He placed the food in front of Damian, and the boy tentatively ate a spoonful.

"Is there anything you'd like to do today?" Roy asked, "We could go swimming, or to the park,"

The boy looked down at his food, contemplating. Roy was patient at first, but after a few minutes' silence, he pressed on:

"We could go for a movie? Do you have _anything _you want to do?"

Damian shook his head slightly, tensing up.

"That's alright. Why don't we ask Lian when you're done?"

This time, no reply. Roy stood up and padded back into the kitchen,

**Because you guys are desperate for an update, I'll leave it here, and make Damian staying with Roy into an arc.**


	16. Heading Out with the Harpers

**Um… I apologise. If you wanna know more, feel free to ask, but yeah… **

**(You should all follow me on Tumblr. I occasionally post fan-fiction ****_and _****fan-art. My name is he-smiled-like-a-weatherman there)**

Roy had taken note, over the past hour with Damian, that the boy was incredibly shy. He was uncomfortable being in the same room as Lian, and obviously found her energy hard to cope with.

The boy was practically cowering in the armchair across from Roy, as Lian bounced up and down in front of the television. She was watching some show with puppets that he didn't recognise.

"Okay, kids," Roy attempted to start a conversation, "Where should we go?"

He immediately had Lian's attention. The five-year-old bounced up to him happily. "I wanna go to the zoo – No! I wanna go to the park! The aquarium! The –"

"Calm down," The man chuckled at his daughter, "We can only go to one place, kiddo."

Damian watched the two carefully, all-too wary of the young girl. He didn't want to say anything, but he really didn't want to go to the zoo, or the park, or the aquarium. He preferred going to the library and the museum with Dick and his father.

The thoughts of his home made his eyes water slightly, and Damian ducked his head to avoid the Harpers' notice.

"Damian?" The red-head's voice startled the boy, "Where do you think we should go?"

"Mm," He made a non-committal noise as an answer.

"What do you like to do, Damian? I heard from Dick that you like music, and there's a festival on in town. We could go to that."

Again, Damian made a non-committal noise and shrugged. Roy walked over to the boy, shooing Lian out of the way.

"I need you to communicate, Damian. What you're doing right now; That's not going to work."

The boy looked up fearfully, and Roy noticed the tears rimming his eyes.

"Hey," The man soothed, "There's no need to cry over it. Jeez,"

Damian gave a slight whine and pouted, and Roy sighed.

"Let's just go for a walk and see what we find, okay?"

The boy nodded and Roy helped him to stand. Lian, who was still bouncing while watching, ran over and grabbed her father's hand. "Which way are we gunna walk, Daddy?"

"I dunno, squirt. We're just going to walk."

* * *

Stepping out onto the street, Roy gripped his daughter's hand tightly, and made sure that Damian was following closely behind before he turned left and started walking.

"If we walk this way, we're heading towards the museum and aquarium," He explained to Damian, flashing a glance back at the boy. Damian's head was hung slightly, but otherwise his walk was confident, probably so from years of training back with his mother.

Lian looked back at the dark-haired boy and sighed. She had been hoping for a playmate, but Damian didn't really seem interested in playing at all, let alone with her.

* * *

The three walked for a while, until faintly Damian could hear music playing. It was cheerful, and people around him seemed to be tapping their feet. It was nice.

And then he spied it.

The wheel was bright and spinning, and once he looked at it he couldn't look away. The music in the background made it hypnotising, and he found himself drawn to the colourful pinwheel. He stood there and watched it, not realising that the Harpers had walked off without him.

* * *

It took a few minutes before Roy realised something was wrong. He turned around, and found that Damian was nowhere to be seen. His daughter was still clutching his hand tightly, and he looked down at her.

"Lian, when did you last see Damian?"

The girl looked up, confused. "When we left, Daddy."

"Well, shit." He turned back and stood on his toes, trying to see over the crowd of people. A few of them brushed against him, trying to get past. "Damian," He muttered, "Where'd you go, kid?"

**Okay. I know you guys really wanted an update, so I'll leave this here and continue working on it for the rest of the day.**

**You never know, maybe you'll get an update within a month this time!**

**I'm sorry.**


	17. Lost

**To the Guest reviewer who reviewed within an hour of my putting it up; I know! It happens to me ****_still_****! But yeah… I hope Damian doesn't freak out too bad… Roy on the other hand, he can go freak out as much as he wants.**

**And thanks for everyone's lovely reviews! I'm sorry I didn't update sooner, and I apologise for any irregularities that occur at the moment (I'm doing exams right now). I'm also trying to keep Damian as a bit more of the little shit he is in the comics… Oh, Gosh… I miss that kid.**

Roy picked up Lian and placed her on his shoulders, holding on tightly to her calves. "Hold on tight, Sweetie," He told her, "We're gonna go find Damian."

"I hope he isn't too scared." The girl worried. "Do you think he's okay?"

"Yeah. I'm sure he's fine."

Meanwhile, Damian was thinking the polar opposite to Roy.

He was still outside the toy shop where he saw the brightly coloured pinwheel, but he'd noticed that Roy and Lian were gone, and while he didn't want to admit it, he was terrified. Nervously his eyes darted around, and one of his hands found the other and started picking at the nail. It was a nervous habit that he'd picked up from watching people.

There was a bump from behind and Damian staggered forward, hitting the side of another person. Before they could react he quickly shied away and ran.

His feet thundered against the footpath and he ran for several minutes, dodging in-between people who gave shouts of indignation and the speeding child. After rounding a corner into an alleyway, Damian leaned against a brick wall and panted heavily. He looked to the side into the main street and balked at the amount of people walking past. _Oh, great_, He thought to himself_ I'll never find them in this crowd_.

Tears gathered at the sides of his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. He was anxious. That was it. There was nothing to be worried about; He's find someone, get help, and be returned to his father and to Dick.

Being lost wasn't _such _a terrible thing.

But that didn't make it any less terrifying.

Roy scanned the crowd from where he stood at the top of a fence. He'd been perched there for about five minutes, surveying the area, while Lian sat on the ground licking an ice-cream.

"Do you see him yet, Daddy?" She asked from below.

"Not yet, kiddo,"

"Should be go to the police-man? You always told me that if I was lost I should go to them."

"Hm…" The red-head pondered the thought for a bit before responding. "No. We'll go to the police if he's still missing in an hour. Until then, we'll look ourselves."

"Okay."

Roy jumped down from his perch and lifted Lian up by one arm. Holding her hand tightly, he pulled her along beside him, back towards where they'd come from.

His eyes scanned everything carefully, taking in all of the people that he could see. Occasionally he'd pull someone over and ask if they'd seen a little boy, ten years old but looks about nine, black hair, blue eyes and wearing an adult's business shirt. None of the people he asked said yes, but all promised to keep an eye out.

Like he'd promised Lian, an hour passed and he finally decided to give up and ask the police for assistance.

Roy picked up his daughter and placed her once more on his shoulders, heading towards a blonde woman in uniform who was standing on a corner.

"Excuse me," He approached the woman, "Can you help me? I've lost one of my kids."

She scrutinised him carefully before drawling, "I'm not surprised."

When Roy didn't respond she continued, "You should keep an eye on your kids. Anyway, what does he look like? I'll take a look around."

"Um… He's –" Roy started before he was interrupted by Lian.

"His name is Damian and he's going to be my friend and he's ten and he has black hair and Daddy's been saying that he's small but he's really not and –"

The blonde gave a bright smile to the girl. "Thanks, sweetie," She said. "I'll go look now," The second was directed more to Roy.

"Thank you." The Harpers both chimed, and with that the blonde was gone.

"Bitch," Roy muttered under his breath.

Damian was still watching the crowd go by when he spotted what he thought may have been the Harper man. He slowly crept out of the alleyway and ran across the rode as quickly as he could, chasing the head of red hair.

Just when he was about to call out to the man, he felt a tap on his back from behind and turned around, finding himself face-to-face with a blonde woman.

"Excuse me," She asked, "Are you Damian?"

The boy gave a shaky nod.

"I thought so!" She gave a bright smile. "My name is Lydia, and I'm a police woman. Your daddy asked me to look for you."

"Father did?"

"Yep! Now, come on," She grabbed his hand, "I'll take you straight to him."

Damian nodded again and followed the woman closely. He was happy, though shaken up, because his father had come to get him!

**Leaving it here… won't Damian be disappointed when he realises that his Dad isn't there…**


	18. Re-United with Roy

**I got lots and lots of lovely reviews, and I absolutely wish I could get back to you all, but that'd be nearly impossible, so I hope you're okay with my giving you all cuddles and stuff~! I really appreciate the reviews, and I read all of them, so if I didn't message you back, then sorry.**

**As for the person who asked if I could make Dick more of a father than a brother to Damian… did you miss the few moments where Damian called him 'Daddy'?**

**Also, I won't make Damian and Lian "more than friends" because they're ten and six years old, respectively, so that would be quite… inappropriate. I'm not exactly a fan of writing romance between two kids. However, yes, they will become friends, and the bullies shall come back soon…**

Damian felt strange having his hand held, but he chose to allow it to keep an air of normalcy about him, though he resolved to let go as soon as his father was in sight. He was embarrassed, yet excited that his father had come when he'd learned he was lost; That _must _have been what happened – Or that's the conclusion that his ten-year-old mind had come up with.

"Your Dad was pretty worried about you, kiddo," The blonde shouted over the noise of the crowd. "He should really keep a closer eye on you."

The boy absently nodded, his eyes scanning around for a mop of black hair standing above the rest of the people.

"Oh! There he is. Hey!" The blonde woman waved enthusiastically, "Hey! You! I found your kid!"

Damian looked towards where she waved, expecting to see his father – Or even Dick – But instead he saw a lanky red-head walking towards him, a black-haired girl perched on his shoulders.

"Hi, Damian!" Lian yelled. "Are you okay?"

The boy stopped walking and held back, yanking his hand out of the police-woman's grasp. "You said Father was looking for me." He growled at the blonde.

"Huh?"

"He's not my father. You said that my father was looking for me, but he's not, is he? Father wouldn't come looking for me. He'd let me stay lost until I could find my way back –" By this point, Damian was ranting more at himself than the woman. He was so angry – Angry at her, for lying; angry at himself, for actually believing that his father… or Dick… would ever come looking for him.

The tears that had been threatening to fall earlier came back up and spilled over, running down his cheeks as he mumbled at himself. He didn't even notice the arms wrapping around him as he started to sob.

"Hey," There was a whisper in his ear, "You're okay."

The boy hiccoughed through his sobs and whispered back, "I just want Daddy."

"I know you do," Rot muttered in his ear, "But before you know it, Bruce and Dick will be back from space, and you can go home and be with them again."

Damian nodded into Roy's chest and pulled away slightly. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I got lost."

"Don't be. People get lost all the time." The man smiled, "And now you'll have something exciting to tell Dick about when you next see him."

The boy smiled weakly at Roy before being bowled over by Lian. Roy looked back at the police officer, who had been holding the girl's hand. She shrugged, and walked off.

"Thank you," The man called after her.

"No problem," She yelled back, waving.

"Damian, why are you crying?" The young girl asked, "Are you hurt?"

"No." Damian was surprised, slightly. He didn't think that the girl would get quite so worried about him. "I'm not hurt at all."

Lian's worried expression was replaced with a wide smile, "That's good. I was worried!"

The girl hugged him again, and Roy looked on smiling. _I don't know what Wally was talking about_, He thought to himself, before interrupting the kids' touching moment.

"Okay, guys. I think we've had enough excitement for today. How about we go home and watch a movie?"

"Movie!" Lian shrieked, "Can we watch _Star Wars_!?"

"Sure. Damian, do you like _Star Wars_?"

Damian hadn't actually seen any of the famous movies, so he stayed silent and fidgeted a bit before shaking his head.

"You don't like them?"

"I haven't seen them," He whispered.

"You haven't seen _Star Wars_!?" Roy yelled in mock outrage. Lian giggled a bit at her father's behaviour. The man leant down and picked up Damian, slinging him under one arm. "What the hell has Dick been doing all this time? You can't _not _see _Star Wars_! It's a rite of passage!"

With his free hand, Roy grabbed his daughter's arm and pulled her along. He broke into a run, and laughed as he passed the people giving them strange looks.

"The _Star Wars _movies, tonight, we shall marathon."

**Aaaaaand yes.**

**Didn't quite know where to go from here, so you guys can use your imaginations to see the marathon.**

**Anyway, as always, I love getting your reviews, and if you want to check out some of my fanart and original fiction, you can always check out my fictionpress or my Tumblr (he-smiled-like-a-weatherman .tumblr .com)**

**Cheers, and thanks for reading!**


	19. Another Author's Note

**I know I promised I'd do something, but right now I can't. My life is falling apart. My Dad has all but abandoned me, and I just found out I'll have to watch my step-mother suffer for between eighteen months and two years before she dies. **

**I'm trying to write, and I promise I have done some, just not much. Hopefully I'll feel a bit better about it all soon, but while I'm still in a bit of shock I will most likely not be updating.**

**Sorry.**


	20. Lian and Damian's Breakfast

**Thank you so much for all the kind words, guys. It's good to know that people are willing to support me through this time, even with no personal obligation to. Anyway, hopefully my writing hasn't suffered, but as always feel free to point out any mistakes.**

The next morning when Roy unexpectedly woke up on the couch with two children draped over him, he at first expected it to be cold. He also expected, after gaining some of his wits, for Damian to have pissed all over him. The first of these expectations was met, and in response he pulled his daughter closer and used her as a blanket. The second, however, wasn't.

When moving Lian Roy had bumped Damian and the boy sat up blearily. "Harper? What time is it?"

"I dunno," Roy groaned and sat up, taking Lian carefully in his arms. He turned and looked out the window – Bright and sunny already. "I'm guessing it's past breakfast time, though, so we should eat."

The man stood up and put his daughter down on the couch, stretching out. "So, what should we eat, kid?"

Damian watched Roy warily before standing up as well. He didn't answer, choosing instead to just follow the red-head into the kitchen.

Roy opened up the fridge and peered inside sleepily. "We have… not very much. I think we have toast, though… how does that sound?" He turned back to look at Damian who'd placed himself on one of the stools. The dark-haired boy gave a sleepy nod – The two obviously weren't morning people.

The man grabbed a packet of sliced bread from on top of the fridge and chucked two pieces into a toaster.

"So, did you enjoy _Star Wars_, Damian?" He asked, trying to engage the boy. He'd come to realise over the past day that Damian wasn't one to begin a conversation, and was quickly left behind when he wasn't immediately addressed. It was a symptom of _something_, but he couldn't quite remember what.

He was pleased to see the boy give a smile and nod. "It was exciting," He said quietly.

"That's good – Maybe one day we should come over to your house and watch all of them."

The boy gave a small chuckle. "Maybe one day," He echoed, and gave a sleepy yawn.

"Still tired, huh? You know, Dick should be back tomorrow, so we still have one more day. Do you have anything special you want to do?"

Damian looked pensive for a moment before nodding his head. Before Roy could prompt him, he continued, "I'd like to go to the museum, if that's okay,"

"Sounds like a plan," The man smiled and turned to the toaster, just as two slices popped out. He pulled them out carefully, dropping them down on a plate before buttering them. "So, honey or jam again?"

"Jam,"

The two sat in the kitchen talking happily for around an hour, until Lian woke up and joined in, bringing her own bright voice to the conversation.

Roy excused himself while the kids talked and went to have a shower.

"Damian Damian, did you like Princess Leia?" Lian asked animatedly. "She's my favourite because she's a princess but she's also really really strong, just like Wonder Woman and Aunty Dinah and –" The girl paused to take a breath before continuing.

Damian nodded along while the girl spoke, hardly understanding any of it. She was the first person he'd met who had no limit on what they could say. He didn't exactly enjoy it, but he supposed it was better than her teasing him.

"… do you like reading? I like reading – My teacher says I'm getting real good at it and –"

But nevertheless, her constant chatter was starting to hurt his head. He squinted at Lian who had dropped her bread again and muttered, "Could you stop talking?"

"Huh?" Lian looked over, confused. "Why would I stop talking? Talking is fun!"

"But you're very," Damian gritted his teeth, "very loud."

The girl pouted, but otherwise didn't seem overly worried. "My teacher tells me to stop talking, too. I'm sorry."

"That's okay."

The two sat in silence for a few minutes, Lian chewing slowly on her toast and Damian watching guiltily.

When Roy came back in he had expected to see the two kids chattering loudly like they had been when he left, but instead he was confronted with an awkward silence between them.

"Hey," He greeted from behind. Lian and Damian both turned to look at him, but they were quite sullen. "What happened?"

Lian sent a reproachful glare towards Damian before stuffing the last piece of toast in her mouth. Damian sighed and brushed past Roy.

"I'm going to take a shower now." He said as he left the kitchen.

Roy looked back after Damian before turning to Lian who was studying the bench. "Wanna tell me what happened, kiddo?"

The girl shook her head shyly before sighing and nodding under her father's gaze.

"So, what happened?"

Lian sighed again and gave him the story, and Roy sat there nodding and giving an encouraging smile every so often.

"So you and Damian had a little fight; that's not too bad."

"But fighting's a bad thing," Lian's eyes widened as she stared at her father.

"Yes," Roy nodded, "Fighting _can _be bad, but this is only a little fight, and neither of you are angry at each-other. It's fine, sweetheart."

The girl sniffed and nodded, leaning over to hug her father just as Damian walked back into the room. He sheepishly muttered an apology before asking Roy if there was anything to drink.

**Okay. I think I'll do the museum next, and then Dick'll come home and they can have a cuddle and stuff and then I don't know what I'll do.**

**Thanks for bearing with me, guys, and be thankful that you're not following me on Tumblr, because you would probably be really really annoyed.**


	21. It's Nearly Home-Time (Snack Adventures)

**Hey, anyone doing GISHWHES?**

The day went smoothly after breakfast; Roy took the kids to the museum, and their argument that morning was forgotten completely. By the time they got home, both Lian and Damian were starting to nod off, so Roy quickly put them to bed, and then went himself.

The next morning, he awoke to two very tired, frightened eyes at the doorway. Sitting up slightly and propping himself on his elbows, he saw Damian fidgeting nervously by the door.

"What's up?" He asked, beckoning the boy over. Damian fidgeted with the bottom of his shirt before shuffling over.

"I –" He whispered, looking down at the floor, "I didn't mean it," His voice was wobbling.

Roy groaned. He knew he'd forgotten something. "That's okay," He sighed, sliding his legs out, "Come on. Let's get you cleaned up."

He made quick work of cleaning up the ten-year-old, before putting him back to bed after promising him multiple times that he was not angry, and it was fine. After he heard Damian start snoring, Roy went back to his bedroom and dropped into bed, asleep again.

At seven, Roy was woken again by his daughter jumping onto his bed, shouting something about wanting breakfast and TV being booooorrrriiiiiiiing. He pulled himself up and tackled his daughter, tickling her and relishing in the joyous squeals, before looking up and seeing a shy Damian watching from the doorway.

He picked up Lian with one arm and carried her out, motioning for Damian to follow him to the kitchen. Dropping his daughter in one of the chairs, Roy made his way into the kitchen and tarted cooking with the last remaining ingredients left in the kitchen. He made a note to go shopping after Dick had picked up Damian.

"So, what'll we do while we wait?" He asked the kids, who were quietly chatting at the bench. "We could watch that _Star Wars _cartoon."

He got an absent nod from both of the children and gave a chuckle as they kept on talking. He was happy that Lian had made a friend, and didn't want to interrupt the last few hours they'd spend together before being separated.

Roy quickly served up an omelette and gave a portion to himself, Damian and Lian, who both ate in-between conversation. It was a few minutes into the meal that Roy noticed food being sprayed onto the benchtop by Lian. Damian was being neat, finishing his food before speaking, but Lian was chewing as she talked animatedly.

"Lian," He warned. "What have I told you about talking with your mouth full?"

"Not to," She chorused – with her mouth full – before continuing on explaining the concept behind finger-painting to Damian. He was strangely interested.

"Lian, if you don't stop, you know what happens." Roy threatened, twirling his fork in his hand.

The girl stopped and gulped, turning to look at her father. "Yes, Daddy," She murmured timidly, shrinking back. "I'll stop now."

"Good girl," He put the fork into his mouth and turned back to his food, keeping one eye on his daughter.

Breakfast finished without further incident, and Roy took the kids into the living room, put on the TV and then disappeared into his bedroom to get some much-needed exercise, before he was pulled away once more.

As he pulled himself up and down on the bar, he could hear Lian and Damian laughing in the background, and he smiled. Since becoming a father he'd learned to appreciate the sound of happy laughter from children. He used to get very annoyed by it.

Suddenly the laughing subsided, and an excited whisper that he could barely make out said: "Hey, Damian – let's get a snack."

And the smile was gone from Roy' face, replaced with a frown. They'd only just had breakfast – Lian wasn't hungry. She was probably just looking for trouble. He dropped down from the bar and went to his door to listen. There were some muffled giggles and footsteps before rustling in the kitchen. Roy moved quickly and quietly, standing outside the kitchen, behind a wall, listening to the kids search for whatever it was they wanted.

It took a few minutes, but there was a triumphant "Aha!" from Lian, and just as she drew out the packet, Roy stepped around the corner into the room. Lian dropped what she was holding and bit her lip.

"So," He folded his arms and walked up to his daughter. Damian was standing back; Roy expected that he'd heard him outside and had prepared accordingly. "Now, who said you could get a snack?"

"Nobody, Daddy," She bent to pick up the packet. "I was just… just… um… I was just showing it to Damian, Daddy." She eventually decided as her excuse.

"Is that so?" Roy looked to Damian, who was fiddling with the hem of his shirt. "Is what Lian said true, Damian?"

**I can't be bothered finishing this right now, so I'll give you guys this… and then next chapter, Dickie's coming home! And I will utilise some of the ideas given by you lovely readers.**


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